Today:
Following the line of Orion’s Belt stars to the right, the red star Aldebaran should easily catch your attention. Look more carefully at this region, and you will see a “V” shaped pattern of stars making the Bull’s face. This faint group is called the Hyades, step-sisters of the more famous Pleiades, or Seven Sisters.
Tuesday:
Orion is now slipping slowly into the southwest, found about one third of the way up from the horizon around 8:30 PM EST this evening. The bright star below his three belt stars, Rigel, remains distinct. A stellar powerhouse, Rigel generates 120,000 times more light than our Sun, but at a distance of nearly 900 light years.
Wednesday:
Tomorrow’s morning twilight hosts this month’s second conjunction between the Moon and Venus. Along an unobstructed eastern horizon, Venus will shine almost due east from 6:05 to 6:10, while the the slim crescent moon appears well to its right in the east-southeast. The two will rise in tandem form here, but will soon get lost in the glare of the rising sun before 6:30.