Today:
The bright star Capella is rarely out of view, located 43 degrees from the North Star. What this means is that it always remains above the horizon, at its very lowest at 9:15 this evening as twilight dims. It slowly rises through the evening, sliding into the northeast, about one quarter of the way up from the horizon, due northeast, by 2 AM EDT.
Friday:
Low in the failing western twilight between 8:15 and 8:30 PM, you will find the bright, bluish-white star Spica nearing the end of its viewing for the year. Although Spica ranks just outside the top-ten brightest stars, at 250 light years away, actually outshines the Sun by 15 thousand times!
Saturday:
With the waning Moon not rising until 10:30 this evening, we’ve got an hour between 9:30 and 10:30 to look to the top of the sky for the head of an old, classic constellation, Draco, the Dragon. His two eyes sparkle as modestly bright stars, then his neck drops down to the right of the Little Dipper, while his body curves up and around, becoming a tail between the Dippers.