Today:
If looking east early tomorrow morning, at 3:00 AM, you can see the thin crescent moon rising in the east-northeast. Just as the blush of twilight increases, you’ll find the planet Mars well to the right of the Moon, while to the Moon’s left, a sprinkling of stars fights with the Moon’s glare, the cluster of stars called the Seven Sisters, or the Pleiades. Jupiter gleams to the lower left, the Moon’s destination Wednesday morning.
Tuesday:
Early risers will be rewarded with a rich display in the early moments of dawn from 3:30 to 4:15 tomorrow. A waning Crescent Moon enjoys its monthly rendezvous with the majestic Jupiter, seen to the Moon’s lower right. Joining them will be Mars, well to the upper right, the red star Aldebaran below Jupiter, and the scintillating Capella, the star well to the left.
Wednesday:
The Dog Days of summer traditionally start today. The term goes back to Roman times, and doesn’t concern the family pet, but the celestial “dog” in the skies. The Dog Days come when the Sun is closest to the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, nick-named the “Dog Star”. We see this star in the winter as the nose of the Great Dog, companion to Orion.