Thought for the Month:
A nudist is one who does not fear a pickpocket

The SunTree Traveler

The weekend prior to St. Patrick’s Day when SunTree returned to the Mira Vista RESORT for soaking, swimming, eating and potlucking was a good weekend for all.

The SunTree gang filled up one of the long tables on the evening of Friday of that week overwhelming the kitchen causing the fryer to surrender. We were not able to enjoy the fish and chips special that night. The following night, the SunTree group outdid themselves and caused two of the long tables to be pulled together in order to accommodate us. It was a trial by fire for the new Mira Vista chef, Aaron. He will have to go back to his planning books before we return in May for our post-Mother’s Day weekend there.

The weather cooperated for our weekend. Tucson got hit with cold weather at the same time that we had it in SunTree country, but their temperatures did not go below zero as ours did. They did have some damage to some of the cacti, but it was not as much devastation as we experienced.

Your newsletter editor had visited Mira Vista RESORT in late February at the time of the cold spell. At that time the paving of the parking lots, driveways and the south condo unit concrete pads were being emplaced. I was amazed when I got there for the pre-St. Patrick’s Day event to see that most of the framing of those units was nearing completion. The resort is quickly enlarging. I am looking forward to the May event.

Celestial News for April

Saturn is Busy in the Night Sky and Misses the Morning Coffee Break

Last month we had our Moon moving in to its closest point to the Earth coinciding with a Full phase. I hope that you got to see that, it was spectacular. We have another close encounter in April. I will hold off in talking about that since it happens in the morning sky.

Evening: In the western evening sky about an hour after sunset early in the month you will see the angry, red eye of Taurus, the bull. That is the star Aldebaran. If you are not sure which one that is, wait until the seventh. It will be the star just to the left of the crescent Moon.

Saturn arrives at his brightest of the year on the night of the third. On that night Saturn will be at its closest point to the Earth of 2011. It rises at sunset and is visible at magnitude 0.4 all night long as the sole naked-eye planet. Saturn will be extra bright because those magnificent rings have opened up for Earthly viewers. They will be at the widest that we Earthnics have seen since 2008. Don’t miss this date because it is only the blink of an eye. The rings will start to close again and Saturn will darken through the month of April. Due to the planned get-together of most of the planets, Saturn is the only one of Earth’s sibling in the night sky.

Morning: Venus will plan on rising on April Fool’s Day about an hour and 20 minutes before the Sun, so the sky should be rather dark and Venus can show off her finery. In fact, Venus will be so bright at magnitude -3.9 that you will be able to see her for a long time as the morning sky brightens. She will be low in the eastern sky until the advancing Sun swallows her in its glare.

All of the planets in the morning sky will be at the morning meeting which will take place almost on the horizon, so persons in SunTree country will not be able to see what happens at that meeting. That meeting will start on the morning of 19 April and continue until 30 April. Scheduled to be in attendance at that meeting will be Jupiter, Uranus, Mercury, Mars, Venus and the Moon. We will, of course be able to see the Moon and Venus, but the others will be lost in the glare of the rising Sun. It is really too bad, since there will be some upsetting things happen when Mars and Mercury try to sit at the same chair. If you were in an area you would see that those two would be less than one degree apart in your view of the sky. From far southern locations such as Miami, this striking gathering may be glimpsed very low in the east, 40 minutes before sunrise. If you are planning on a trip a little farther south, below the equator, this group is higher in the eastern sky and easier to see.