Went over to the University of Maryland Observatory Thursday evening for the public Mars viewing. The public interest, judging by the turnout, is quite impressive.

I was in line for two hours to look through the either the 16" or the 14" 'scope, but was still probably a half hour away from my turn when I saw the cloud bank approaching Mars. I took advantage of the opportunity to go to the lawn and view the planet through a smaller 'scope (probably 6") just before it disappeared behind the clouds.

Had some interesting conversations with others in line, including a group of young Hill staffers from the office of Rep. Velazquez (D-NY).