Today:
A low, level view to the southwest shows that the Crescent Moon is now to Spica’s left, The two will intially separate further, and won’t rendezvous again until the predawn hours in November and December. Spica is one of four bright stars the Moon tracks near each month, but the timing, and the Moon’s phase changes as the Earth’s orbit changes our viewing location.
Tuesday:
Saturn is now rising as twilight give way to the dark of night, at 9:45 in the east, and slides higher into the east-southeast, one quarter of the way into the heavens by 2:00 AM tomorrow morning, due southeast. Saturn’s great distance means it takes decades to orbit the Sun, which means we see it in nearly the same place for months. That means the Earth’s orbit creates most of the changes we see, as Saturn rises about 4 minutes earlier each evening.
Wednesday:
The Half Moon will hang above horizon in the west-southwest at 8:45 PM. To its left you will find the red star Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius. Antares is known as the “heart” of the Scorpion. Note the S-shape of the constellation, a clue to remembering that you can S-ee the S-corpion in the S-outh in S-ummer. Antares will have a much closer rendezvous with Moon tomorrow night.