So, twenty after ten and the four of us are out in the back yard again.

And again, the wife spots them first.

'Course, I was trying to get shots of heelers running around in the dark with their flashlights on, so it was hardly fair.

The space ships came in lower this time, a quirk of their orbits (or ours, depending on your point of view). Appearing in the west, then racing across the southwest sky towards the south.

You can see them both here, spaced out between the moon on the left, and Venus on the right. The front one above the chimney, the trailing vessel to the right.

Interesting thing is, checking an online star chart afterwards, I discover Saturn is in there, too. Somewhere real close to the trailing spaceship (ISS or Atlantis? I'm no longer sure which is leading.) Just too dim to show.

According to the published NASA tables, we got about three minutes of viewing.

Seemed like less.

They raced across the sky...

and disappeared behind the tall silver-leaf maple across the street.

And never came out again.

And they should have, the way they were passing overhead. But somewhere behind that tree they slipped into the Earth's shadow, and faded into obscurity.

Should be blazing again tomorrow, around 10;44.

Hope you all had clear skies, too.