Today:
Late tonight, the Moon appears as a wide waning Crescent as it rises a little before midnight in the northeast, while the planets Jupiter and Mars arel in pursuit. Jupiter climbs into the northeast about 45 minutes later, after midnight, followed by Mars about a half hour later. They’ll rise high in the southeast as the first blush of twilight appears near 5:15 AM. The Moon slides to their left tomorrow morning.
Tuesday:
Jupiter has returned to the evening skies….barely! Our largest planet rises just before midnight in the northeast, with the waning Crescent Moon quickly accompanying it just 10 minutes later. Mars tags along 15 minutes later, giving this trio several hours to rise higher into the east-southeast, where you can see them from 4 to 5:30 AM.
Wednesday:
One of the curious features in the Milky Way, arched high across the evening skies from the south to overhead, is found next to the star Deneb, the least bright star in the Summer Triangle. Look for a patch of dark sky, known as the Northern Coal Sack. It is not an absence of stars, but rather a thick cloud of gas and dust blocking the light from more distant stars.