Today:
The Moon, now a waxing gibbous, has reached Leo, and is abreast of Regulus, the star that mark’s Leos breast plate, and which is also the constellation’s brightest. The Moon’s next close encounter with a bright star will be when it cozies up next to Spica, in Virgo, on the evening of the 9th.
Tuesday:
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower continues tonight, with modest interference from the Moon. Best seen after midnight, with up to 15 meteors or “shooting stars” per hour, you’ll find much darker skies after the Moon sets near 3:30 AM. These cosmic pebbles that burn up upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere are actually the debris from Halley’s Comet, not returning until 2061.
Wednesday:
A very large diamond of bright objects should get your attention in the west on the next clear evening. Lowest, though quite bright as twilight fades after 9 o’clock, Orion’s shoulder star Betelgeuse is due west, flanked to the upper right by the brilliant Capella, and the upper left by Procyon. High above shine the Twins of Gemini.