Whatever else astronomy may or may not be who can doubt it to be the most beautiful of the sciences? ~Isaac Asimov, American writer and biochemistry professor

Venus (left) and Jupiter, early morning sky, May 1, 2022, looking east

I guess I’ve always been fascinated by outer space.

The stars and far away planets — and the possibility, slim though it might be, of life existing there — are the stuff of the science fiction books I immersed myself in as a youngster.

And while my reading preferences might have switched to mysteries, I still find myself looking up, up, up — daytime or night.

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