It's Just A Phase

Upon arriving home and feeding the dogs tonight, I rushed back downstairs and turned out all the lights in the house. That was because driving home, I noticed a particularly bright Venus in the sky, and she was setting fast. I pulled out the telescope and pointed it right above the treeline, and found my target. To my delight, she was not only beautifully bright, reflecting a gorgeous blue-white color, but she was in a half phase, like a half moon. So often, things in the sky appear only like tiny dots, so when I can resolve in such detail, it's a real pleasure.

And literally just a few minutes ago, the Space Station flew overhead and I could track it with my naked eye. It just looked like a star, but it moved -- fast -- across the northwest sky. Not quite as bright as Venus, but well brighter than anything else.