Today:
From now through the weekend, Venus shares its corner of the heavens with a star making its last appearances of the year, the “heart” of the Scorpion, Antares. You’ll need a low, level view to the southwest, and maybe a pair of binoculars or a spotting scope, to scan the horizon from 6:25 to 6:35. The much fainter Antares flickers to the lower left of Venus tonight, and below Venus by Sunday night.
Friday:
Night owls at 3:30 tomorrow morning will see a waning Crescent Moon due east, accompanied by the royal star Regulus, the “heart” of Leo, the Lion. If that’s too early, they climb higher into the southeast, about two thirds of the way up from the horizon as twilight creeps into the morning skies from 6:15 to 6:45 AM.
Saturday:
Lowering into the west-northwest this evening, the pale orange star Arcturus, sets near 8:15 PM EDT. However, our second brightest star is not done. Early tomorrow morning, Arcturus climbs back into the east-northeast starting at 5:25, though much easier to find one hour later.