Today:
Over the next few nights, the Earth passes directly between the Sun and Saturn, placing Saturn exactly opposite the Sun from our location, an arrangement called “opposition”. For planets, this places us as close to them as we get, and this situation allows sunlight to reflect directly off the planet, both details helping Saturn to reach its maximum brightness. It rises at sunset, and tracks across the skies all night.
Sunday:
As dawn breaks tomorrow morning, you can catch a fleeting glimpse of the planet Mercury, as it rises just slightly north of east at around 5 AM, and best viewed from 5:30 to 6 o’clock. Ever so slightly beneath and to the east of Mercury is the star Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, but will outshined by Mercury, and both soon overwhelmed by the rising sun.
Monday:
The growing Crescent Moon slides east from its location last evening, and appears to the right of a bright, orange-red star, Antares. Look for them to emerge from the twilight by 7:30, low in the south-southwest, and slipping lower through the evening, and setting by 9:15 in the southwest.