Today:
During the afternoon, the planet Jupiter passes behind the Sun from our viewpoint on Earth, known as its conjunction. Naturally, this is not an observable, event, yet this configuration has been tracked for thousands of years, and can be found on clay tablets from Mesopotamia, dating back over three thousand years ago.
Sunday:
A large, waxing Gibbous Moon pays a visit to the bluish-white beacon Spica as they emerge from the twilight between 8:45 and 9:00 this evening. Starting in the south-southeast, they crest due south at 10:15, the settling lower in the southwest, setting near 3 o’clock. By tomorrow evening, the Moon’s orbit takes it to the left of Spica.
Monday:
On this date in 1910, the Earth passed through the tail of Halley’s Comet, an event that spawned any number of reactions, from taking “Comet Pills” to ward off the noxious vapors, to predictions of the end of the world. The dangers were greatly exaggerated, with no measurable effects.