HERE COMES MARS: Mark your calendar: On Oct. 30th, Mars makes its closest approach to Earth for the next 13 years.  The view of Mars through backyard telescopes is already spectacular and getting better.  Amateur astronomers are monitoring a big dust storm that is "rewriting the map of Mars" from night to night.  You can see Mars with the unaided eye, too.  It looks like a brilliant orange star rising in the east after sunset.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for pictures and sky maps.

QUIET SUN: Solar activity is extremely low.  X-rays from the sun have dimmed to their lowest levels since 1997.  The ongoing quiet follows a furious outburst of flares and coronal mass ejections just last month, highlighting the unpredictability of the sun on month-to-month time scales.  The 11-year solar cycle seems to be on track, however.  The current spate of quiet is consistent with the approach of solar minimum expected in 2006.
 
 
 
 
Kay