Today:
The southern skies welcome the brightest section of the Milky Way sliding up from the horizon, accompanied by the pattern of stars called “the Teapot”, with a triangular lid, a pot underneath, and a handle attached on the left, with the spout on the right. The bright portion of the Milky Way sits at the center of our galaxy.
Wednesday:
The two brightest stars in our summer skies – Arcturus, high in the south, and Vega, high in the east – guide you to a much fainter star group, Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. Look one third of the way from Arcturus toward Vega, and you will see a faint semi-circle of stars, with a brighter one in the middle. This is Gemma, the jewel in the crown.
Thursday:
Just after midnight, the moon will rise in the east-southeast as a waning gibbous. Hot on its trail will be the planet Saturn, rising just to the left of the moon a few minutes later. Through the predawn hours, Saturn will give the appearance of gaining on the moon, but won’t quite succeed, before the rising sun causes the disappearance of both.