Today:
The Great Square of Pegasus, due south and very high as twilight fades near 5:30 this evening, will help locate the beautiful Princess Andromeda. The top left corner of the square is also the head of the Princess, with two other bright stars to the left forming her hips and foot. Extend this slightly curved line one more step to the left, almost due east and you are at Mirfak, the head of the hero, Perseus.
Sunday:
One of the brightest stars in the sky, and part of the Summer Triangle, Vega, is flickering in the northwest by dark. Vega gets its name from the German “Wega”, which came from “Al Waki”, Arabic for “the falling or swooping eagle”. It will set at 9:23 PM EST.
Monday:
Harry Potter in the sky? Looking in the southeast after 7:00 this evening, we see the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, rising. It is known as the Dog Star, and in the Harry Potter books, his god-father Sirius turns into a dog. Likewise, Sirius’s sister is Bellatrix, the star that marks the left shoulder (our right) of Orion, called the “female warrior”, and in the books she indeed fights!