Today:
The Moon again appears in the south this evening, but it has shifted out of Libra, and into the heart of Scorpius. On this night Scorpius might be said to have two hearts, as the Moon takes up with the usual “Heart of the Scorpion,” Antares, which the brightest star within Scorpius. The star is a red supergiant, and glows at a distance of about 550 light years from the sun.
Saturday:
At 10:15 this evening, the Scorpion’s tail is due south, extremely low above the horizon, yet even so, at its best viewing of the year. As the tail curls up to the left, the star on the end is called Shaula, from the Arabic meaning either “stinger” or “raised”, as in poised to sting.
Sunday:
Tonight near midnight, the bluish-white star Vega is nearly overhead, while the brilliant pale-orange Arcturus is about half way up from the horizon in the west. Between them, about two thirds of the way from Arcturus up to Vega, a bow-tie shaped pattern of stars can be found, outlining the figure of Hercules.