Today:
By 2 o’clock tomorrow morning, the east-northeast hosts a collection of celestial show pieces, climbing higher for a fine display between 3 and 4 AM tomorrow. We start with thinning Crescent Moon, well left of Jupiter, and just to the right of the star El Nath, the tip of one of Taurus’s horns. To the right of Jupiter shines Taurus’s heart, Aldebaran, and above Aldebaran you’ll find the red planet, Mars.
Wednesday:
Late July offers a view of the W-shaped pattern of stars climbing into the northeast, about one third of the way up this evening, forming the basis of the throne for the Queen, Cassiopeia. It is tipped on its back during the summer, gradually climbing higher each evening, so that it is completely upside-down, later this fall.
Thursday:
August starts with a curious view for early risers, low in the east-northeast. From 4:30 to 4:45 AM, a thin Crescent Moon appears to the right of a pair of stars rising in the twilight, the Twins of Gemini, forming a triangle. Normally we see Gemini in the winter, but that is in the evening. Gemini begins its viewing each year in August.