Today:
The Big Dipper runs as low as it gets along the northern horizon. At 7:30 PM EST, the right edge of the “bowl” of the Dipper is exactly above north. Follow the line formed by these two stars, the “pointer stars”, and they will guide you up to the North Star, Polaris, located half way between the horizon and the zenith.
Tuesday:
The mid-winter stars rise earlier each evening, as the Earth makes its appointed journey around the Sun. By 9:30 PM, the familiar stars of Orion are in the east, and are joined by the bright star Procyon, just rising at 9:45 PM EST. This is the dominant star in the constellation Canis Minor, the Little Dog.
Wednesday:
Just as the clock strikes midnight, the Last Quarter Moon rises above a level eastern horizon, later if hills and trees are in the way. Above this half-illuminated Moon, the brightest star in Leo, the Lion, Regulus, struggles to be seen through the Moon’s glare. Through the wee hours of the morning, the Moon” tracks high through the southeastern sky. The “Last Quarter Moon” means it has progressed three quarters of the way through its cycle, in its orbit around the Earth.