Today:
Just below the wide waning Gibbous Moon, Mars shines as best it can through the Moon’s glow, while just above the moon appears the star Pollux, of the constellation Gemini. Farther to right of the moon, and a little bit below, shines the star Procyon, the brightest star within the surprisingly non-canine-looking constellation Canis Minor, the Little Dog.
Wednesday:
Before the waning Gibbous Moon takes to the skies this evening, notice Orion climbing into the east and southeast, his three bright belt stars nearly vertical. It always reminds me of Robert Frost’s poetic description of Orion, who “always comes up sideways. Throwing a leg up over our fence of mountains. And rising on his hands, he looks in on me.
Thursday:
In the east-northeast at around 10 PM, the breast of Leo the Lion, marked by its brightest star Regulus, appears to push before it the rising Gibbous Moon. It’s interesting to note that the Sun passes Regulus in late August. Connecting that to this evening, the Moon follows the Sun’s August path, which means it rides very high in the south, cresting two-thirds of the way up in the south, during the morning twilight, at around 7 o’clock.