Today:
The thinning Crescent Moon greets early risers tomorrow morning, best viewed from 4:15 to 4:45, in order to also see Saturn, which is fainter, rising in the east, and soon to be overwhelmed by the gathering dawn. Rising at 4:30 will be Mars, presently unable to compete with the morning light, at least to the naked eye, but this is soon to change.
Wednesday:
Late this evening, near 10:00, lowering toward the northwestern horizon shines a sparkling, flashing object, with random flares of green, or red, or blue. No, it is not a UFO, but the bright star Capella. Bright stars, when they are near the horizon, have their light bent by the atmosphere, much like light going through a crystal or prism.
Thursday:
Gemini, the Twins, are standing on the horizon between west and northwest this evening, Castor on the right and Pollux on the left. It was near the feet of Castor, the name of the brother as well as the star, that in 1781 Sir William Herschel discovered a new planet – the one we now call Uranus.