Well, having joined the ranks of those who've stood down from MB tonight,
here are a couple of more things to recommend:
I really enjoyed the book "Mapping Mars" by Oliver Morton. Lots of good
details about the history of mapping the planet, both telescopically and
from spacecraft. Good details about the people involved, too. I met the
author at this fall's meeting of the American Geophysical Union, where lots
of exciting Mars stuff was being presented. He's a real sharp guy, very up
on the latest research. I found the book to be money well-spent, even in
hardback.
Also, if no one's read it, it's worth going into the TAC OR archive and
reading Jay's write-up of his trip to the Big Island in 2000. It makes for
very good "armchair observing". It had me wanting to rebuild my dob, buy a
plane ticket, and head for the Onizuka Visitor's Center on Mauna Kea.
Looks like this evening's observing list has one object: The
Giants-Phillies game on my TiVo.
FWIW, think of how incredibly psyched we'll be when we CAN finally get out
and observe! We'll be going nuts...
--- Marek Cichanski