Today:
Before the waning Gibbous Moon takes to the skies this evening, notice Orion climbing into the east and southeast, his three bright belt stars nearly vertical. It always reminds me of Robert Frost’s poetic description of Orion, who “always comes up sideways. Throwing a leg up over our fence of mountains. And rising on his hands, he looks in on me.”

Tuesday:
In the east-northeast at around 10 PM, the breast of Leo the Lion, marked by its brightest star Regulus, appears to push before it the rising Gibbous Moon. It’s interesting to note that the Sun passes Regulus in late August. Connecting that to this evening, the Moon follows the Sun’s August path, which means it rides very high in the south, cresting two-thirds of the way up in the south, during the morning twilight, at around 7 o’clock.

Wednesday:
Mercury remains near its best morning view position for the year, low in the southeast, about one hand-width above a level horizon at 6 o’clock, rising to almost two hand-widths by 6:30, as the Sun’s growing twilight overwhelms our swiftest planet. In most years, its 88 day orbit gives us three morning and three evening displays, though often it appears much lower than its current apparition.