By Rod Hill on 2010-08-04
Celestial Triangle
When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west. Venus, Saturn, and Mars have converged to form a triangle in the sunset sky. The three planets will remain in triangular formation for many nights to come, only the angles will change. Tiny Mercury will be to the distant far lower right from the trio later in week. Sunset for Portland starts around 8:38 p.m. PDT on August 1 up to 8:29 p.m. PDT by August 8. Enjoy!
I saw the triangle the other night and Mercury off to the right! I looked straight up over downtown Portland and Mercury trailed off to the southwest.
Northern lights may be visible tonight and Thursday. You need to get way from the city lights and look to the north to have a chance. Marine clouds have been arriving around midnight, so take a look before 11:00 pm to be safe. The chance of seeing the lights are on the slim side, but you never know.
July Close To Normal