How well can the government spy on us via satellite?

[I]f [the donated satellites] had actually been used as spy satellites, what would these super telescopes have been able to see on the ground? It’s a fascinating question, and leads into a nice basic discussion of the optical resolution of imaging systems. In other words, what is the smallest detail that could be picked up by one of these telescopes in orbit?

Towering transit of Venus

OK, look, I know I’ve posted a lot of Venus Transit pix, and it’s been a week now, so you have to know I wouldn’t post one this late unless it was really awesome.