Today:
As September nears, the lengthening nights are pushing back the dawn twilight more and more, helping Mars to become more and more visible a little after 5 AM, appearing nearly due east, and nestled snuggly within the constellation Gemini. The Twin stars of Gemini appear vertically aligned, well to the left of the reddish Mars, one third of the way above the horizon.
Sunday:
At about 8:20 this evening, the large, waning Gibbous Moon rises in the east, soon to be joined by its solar system cousin Saturn, which rises nearly due east 45 minutes later. Together, the two will trek across the southern sky all night, due south near 3 o’clock. As they continue into the southwest, Jupiter rises after 4:00 AM, bright and low in the east, getting overwhelmed by the pre-dawn twilight between 5:30 and 6:00 AM.
Monday:
Venus continues its slow, inevitable decline in the western skies, visible though quite low in the west-southwest before 8 o’clock. Briefly after, near 8:15, look carefully above the blazing Venus for a last glimpse of the star Spica. Venus and Spica fight their sinking positions and the Sun’s glare into the first week of September.