As promised, we just watched the International Space Station and an Iridium flare almost intersect in the sky over Denver, and it was an AWESOME sight:

That’s Cassiopeia on the right. Here’s a closer view, showing just the flare, the ISS, and the star Gamma Cephei:

Full-size image here.

We were very lucky to be able to see the show at all. The weather forecast as of last night called for 50% cloud cover, and when we arrived at our viewing spot 25 minutes before the flare, it looked like a big ugly cloud was headed straight for the spot where the Iridium/ISS encounter was going to happen:

Thankfully, though, the cloud moved off to the east, leaving the area around Cassiopeia, Polaris and Gamma Cephei completely clear.

(By the way, in the cloud photo, the brightest “star” is Jupiter, the other noticably bright star is Antares, and the line at bottom left is not a satellite but an airplane landing at Denver International Airport.)

The Iridium satellite we saw was number 45. We also saw two other satellites: Lacrosse 3 and, I think, SeaSat 1.

Hello and welcome to Denver. Now buy our merchandise or GET OUT!

I am not a huge baseball fan, but I know that many of you who read and/or post here are. I am, however, a sucker for the really touching, sappy stuff, and this falls into that category, at least for me. While I was watching Mike & Mike today, Greenie told this story. Since Brendan had been (and likely could still be) in Denver, I think it’s fitting :)

Mike Coolbaugh, a first base coach for the Rockies minor league team, the Tulsa Drillers, was killed on July 22nd this year when he was hit by a line drive. He left behind two small children, ages 3 and 5, and a wife who is expecting their third child.

The players for each playoff team get together and vote on how the shares of their teams playoff money gets split between the team. The Rockies players have decided that awarding a full share of the teams winnings to Amanda Coolbaugh, Mike’s widow, is the right thing to do.

I was completely awed when I heard this story. I always think that there is far too much selfishness and greed in today’s sports era. When it seems that more and more pro players are thinking about how long they can hold out in hopes of getting more money, and how much more money they can get by holding out, this small gesture by the Colorado Rockies shows me that there really is more to these players than “more more, more.” I think that perhaps this sport that they call “America’s Pastime” deserves a bit more of my love and affection, if not only because of stories like these.

– Olympic gold medal winner Marion Jones pleads guilty to lying to investigators about steroid use.

Visiting Cheyenne, Wyoming. They're having some sort of an anti-violence-against-women event on the steps of the State Capitol building.

Though I don’t always agree with him, he is consistently one of the best opinion writers for the New York Times, and this week’s column certainly does not disappoint. If you have a moment, I’d suggest giving it a read.

The Cubs are in deep trouble as they head home to Chicago. The Rockies, on the other hand, are on the verge as they come home to Denver. Back in the AL, the Yankees are down 1-0 even as the Red Sox are up 1-0.

Rockies vs. Diamondbacks in the NLCS, Indians vs. Red Sox in the ALCS? That’s how it looks so far, but it could all very easily change, especially in the AL.

Go Sox!