I was fortunate enough to catch the close gathering of Venus, Mercury,
and Saturn from Monroe, WA. The clouds held off just long enough to get
a great view of this spectacular threesome.

I had the best view through my ETX-60 with a 13mm Nagler. All 3 planets
fit in the field of view, and barley make out the slightest hint of
separation in Saturns rings. The false color on Venus was horrible, but
not matter. The setup was quick enough that I didn't feel bad that the
weather only allowed for 45 minutes of viewing. If had drug out the
Genesis or the 13" dob, I may have left disappointed. I brought my wife
and mother-in-law along. The MIL had never seen any planet in a
telescope before, so tonight, she saw 4 (we snuck over to Jupiter as
well).

Matt Simmons