Today:
While last night’s Crescent Moon appears well to the upper right of Mercury, during that same viewing window near 9:30, look to the left of Mercury for a pair of stars, the “twin stars” of Gemini, lowering toward the horizon. Pollux on the left, and Castor a bit higher and to the right, are not actually twin stars. They are not even related. Pollux is 34 light years away, while Castor is a more distant 55 light years.
Saturday:
The star Antares, the “heart” of Scorpio, the Scorpion, shines due south, only one quarter of the way above the horizon at 10:50 PM, shimmering a bright orangish-red. Antares was one of the four Royal Stars in Persian astronomy, marking the position of the Sun at the beginning of autumn thousands of years ago. You can see the head and shoulders of the Scorpion – a trio of stars – to the upper right.
Sunday:
This evening it’s all about the Moon and Mars. As the glow of the evening twilight dims after 9:30, our satellite very nearly obscures (occults) the Red Planet, the pair one quarter of the way up in the western sky. Mars will appear nearly at the top point of the Moon’s crescent, but if you can watch through 10:30, you’ll notice the Moon shifting to the lower left of Mars, as its orbit sends it slowly toward the left or east.