Continued cold temperatures and a series of "clippers" zipping down from the northwest this weekend could add some snowflakes to the scene as we work to chip our way out of the mess left behind by this week's storm. The good news is that the clippers are fairly dry, and what moisture they do have is falling through more dry air. So much, or all, of the snow they generate may evaporate before it reaches the ground.

So keep on chipping. Or, if you have no place to go, sit tight and wait for warmer temperatures - maybe even RAIN - next week. Here's the official forecast.

In the meantime, skies have cleared nicely, and tonight promises to be a great night for stargazing. That's Venus gleaming in the western sky after sundown. Mercury, which was close by last week has since moved down into the sun's glare. NASA's Messenger spacecraft, built and controlled at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab near Laurel, is on its way to a 2011 encounter with Mercury.

Saturn rises in the east at sunset. To find it, face due east after dark. Look for a bright, pale yellowish "star" just above the eastern horizon, perhaps a bit north of due east. Don't confuse it with the brilliant star Sirius, higher and more toward the south.

You can't see Saturn's distinctive rings without at least a small telescope, but if you get the chance, take it. The first time is always the best. The Cassini spacecraft is still circling Saturn and its moons.

And, if you're up early tomorrow, look to the southeast. The brightest "star" in that part of the sky just before dawn is the giant planet Jupiter. (Here's an image comparing the size of Jupiter's "great red spot" with the Earth.) A decent pair of binoculars and a steady place to rest them will reveal as many as four of its largest moons, lined up on either side of Jupiter like tiny planets. They're the same moons Galileo first spied with his telescope on Jan. 7, 1610. APL is also shepherding a spacecraft past Jupiter this month. It's the New Horizons mission, bound for Pluto.