be Sirius, please

A respondent in sff.net quoted a local newspaper as giving this weather report for the day Phobos was discovered:  "For this city and vicinity, generally fair 
weather may be expected for two days, with gradually increasing warmth and 
occasional cloudiness, possibly threatening a shower tomorrow. " Of course 
we do know that the air was very clear and steady over Washington at four in 
the morning, for Hall to spot the tiny spark of Phobos, thitherto unseen. 
  
I've never seen Phobos, unsurprisingly, but I had a low-octane similar experience, 
the first morning I used my [then] new 9.25" scope, down in the steady clear 
air in the Florida Keys. I looked at Sirius, I think with 444X, and saw its 
faint dwarf companion clearly, in the deep blue predawn sky. It took my breath 
away. 

Joe 

(Googling, I find that it's best to look for it when the sky isn't totally dark; otherwise the brilliance of Sirius can dazzle it into invisibility.)
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Published on December 12, 2012 11:02
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