IT'S HUMAN NATURE to be fascinated by extremes - the biggest, the smallest, the brightest, and the farthest. As amateur astronomers our interests are piqued by eventssuch as the extraordinarily favorable opposition of Mars in 2003(theclosest in at least 300 centuries), the brilliant showing of comet McNaught earlier this year (the brightest in 41 years), and the forthcoming solar eclipse of July 22, 2009(the longest totality of the 21st century). Tonight's sky showcases wo constellations that also epresent extremes.
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