Re: superhero space navigation

Andrew Plotkin wrote:
> You mentioned a cluttered sky, but remember that it's cluttered
> because everything is brighter. Planets are brighter too. If you're
> inside Earth's orbit, the brightest things visible (after the Sun)
> will be Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and maybe Mercury. The Sun's
> position against the stars (plus your printout) will tell you
> immediately which of those planets might be behind the Sun (or lost in
> its glare).

You'll probably be able to distinguish which planet is which by their 
appearance, especially if you've got a modest telescope. Mars is the 
reddish one, Venus is the brightest one, Jupiter is the one with four 
moons, Earth is the bluish one with one moon, and Mercury is whatever's 
left over near to the sun.

I'm not a stargazer myself but Galileo was able to distinguish Jupiter's 
moons with a really primitive spyglass so a modern portable will 
probably be good enough.