This is my 1,000th Sky Spy column. I want to thank the editors of Caliente, who have supported me for 19 years, starting with Inger Sandal in 2007. My current editor, Norma Coile, makes sure each column is up to the Arizona Daily Star’s standards and writes the headline for each. To celebrate, I am going to push my luck a bit and shamelessly promote my book, "The Sky at Night – Easy Enjoyment from your Backyard."
The column was started in 1981 by Michael Smith, M.D., a highly respected neurologist and amateur astronomer. I don’t know if he came up with the name Sky Spy, but he wrote a splendid column for 19 years. I faithfully read it every week. After Mike, the column continued by one of the paper’s reporters, who did a very fine job with it for seven years until he left the Star. I then was lucky enough to pick up the column in February 2007.
Tonight, look at the bright gibbous (more than half-lit) moon. At 8 p.m., it is nearly overhead. To the left (north) of the moon, only 3 degrees is Pollux, one of the twins in Gemini the Twins. The other twin. Castor, is 4½ degrees above Pollux. As a bonus, bright Jupiter is in the middle of Gemini 8 degree above the moon.
