by John Giles
I just happened to catch a SKY & TELESCOPE note on the Jupiter/Mars conjunction on January 6th and 7th. It sounded too good to pass up, so I set my alarm for 5:30 AM on the 7th to see what I could see and try to get a picture. Well, I found it turned out to be really cold! So that left out binoculars, but I’ve seen them before and thought naked eye would be OK. I was all set to drive to a good spot, but to my surprise, I could see them from my driveway, between the tree branches. What a great sight! Next project was to try to get some pictures before the camera fogged up. At -1°F, I didn’t think I had much time. I shot a few and hoped for the best.
Image by John Giles taken on January 7, 2018 at 5:50 AM from Central NJ.
Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton 
Very nice, John! I scouted out the Jupiter/Mars conjunction on January 6 from my front porch with a handheld spotting scope. The next morning, I set up the spotting scope on a tripod on my front sidewalk. I awoke my wife and we managed to view the pair and observe the moon for 30 minutes before being driven back inside by the 0 degree F temperature. We set a new record low temperature for observing that morning, but it was worth it!