Orange County Register

You’ll need a pair of binoculars or a small telescope to see them. But four of our solar system’s eight planets (remember, Pluto is no longer a planet) will briefly be aligned in the western sky tonight. We suggest you look right at 8 p.m. because Mercury, which is hard to find under the best conditions, will be only 1 degree above the horizon. And the alignment is best viewed from the beach, where you’ll have a clear view of the western horizon.

As you may have heard, NASA announced on Thursday that the Phoenix lander has confirmed the existence of water ice on Mars, a finding that raises the possibility — however remote — that microbial lif did, or does, exist on the red planet.

NASA also announced during the week that the Cassini orbiter has confirmed that liquid lakes of hydrocarbons exist on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.

O.C. unusually warm for 5th straight month

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