During the next few nights, the Twins of Gemini appear to have become triplets! With the twilight fading from 9 to 9:30 PM, look low in the west, well above Venus. The twin stars of Gemini, Pollux on the left, Castor on the right, welcome the much redder Mars, about an equal distance to their left. The alignment lingers for a few days, while Mars slowly lifts higher.
Tuesday:
Early risers tomorrow morning, with a low and level view to the east, should scan the horizon for about 10 minutes, from 4:40 to 4:50 AM. If the weather cooperates, you’ll enjoy a fine display of a thin, waning Crescent Moon just to the right of Jupiter, now returning to the skies.
Wednesday:
Very high in the north, nearly overhead, the seven stars of the Big Dipper, while close to the northern horizon, with a low and level view, you find the stars of the Queen, Cassiopeia, in the form of a “W”-shaped pattern. The Big Dipper and the Queen are always opposite each other, with the North Star directly between them. Six months later, in November, they switch positions.