Today:
While the Moon, just two days past Full, continues to bathe the skies with moonlight, the western skies play host to several bright objects capable of competing with the lunar glow. These include the bright stars Procyon, Betelgeuse, Aldebaran, and Capella. High in the western sky is Jupiter. Now positioned squarely between the Gemini Twins, Jupiter will drift slowly to the left, toward Pollux, for the rest of the month.
Saturday:
While “The Dog Star” Sirius shines brightly but low in the southwest, Procyon shines directly above Sirius, much higher in the southwest. Procyon appears about half way up in the skies at 9:30 PM, and is the 6th brightest star we can see. Although not quite as close as Sirius, Procyon belongs to our neighborhood of stars, being only 11 light years distant.
Sunday:
For night owls, or very early risers tomorrow morning, the southeastern skies host a wonderful view of the waning Gibbous Moon, rising just minutes before midnight, joined shortly later by the red star Antares, the “heart” of the Scorpion, to the lower left of the Moon. They remain low in the southeast, Antares cresting due south at 4:20 AM, and then toward the southwest as twilight brightens after 5:15 AM.