Today:
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.
Friday:
If you’re an early riser, you can behold some other early risers at 3 AM tomorrow morning. Look to the east-northeast, and you can see Jupiter locking horns with Taurus, the Bull, seen to the left of the red star Aldebaran, the “eye” of Taurus, while the reddish Mars looks on from above to form a temporary triangle.
Saturday:
The Scorpion emerges from the twilight near 9:00 PM, near its best position of the year, with its tail curving down and left to the southern horizon, then curling back up to the stinger on the very end of its tail. Just right of due south, the star on the very end of the tail is Shaula, coming from the Arabic meaning “raised tail”.