Jovian Cat

Over the years we have been privileged to share our lives with a collection of cats. Our first was Calicat, dropped on our doorstep in Denver at the height of a blizzard. She was pregnant, which was probably the reason for her being abandoned. A month or so later she gave birth to three kittens, of which our long-beloved cat Larry was one. Larry and Calicat are both gone now, and have been succeeded by Pixel and Miranda.

Jovian Pixel
Jovian Pixel

What all these cats have in common is that they became involved in supervising my writing. Pixel is quite interested in my latest planetarium show script (about Hubble Space Telescope science), and shows her support by sprawling across my desk, holding books open (by laying on them), and bringing toys for me to play with when she’s sure that I’ve been in front of the computer too long.

Not long ago I was looking at some HST Jupiter images and began messing around them in PhotoShop. Inspiration struck and I came up with this picture of a Jovian-eyed Pixel.

Well, if you’re Jovian-minded these days and the weather is cooperating in your neck of the woods, you can catch a glimpse of the real thing shining between the constellations Leo and Gemini. Where I live (New England) it’s nearly straight overhead at 10 p.m.

For a chart to help you find Jupiter, go to SkyAndTelescope.com and click on their interactive star chart. It will ask you a few questions to help determine your location on Earth and then display your personalized chart.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.