Today:
The star Capella is right on the northern horizon, due north at 9:35 PM EDT. While it is essentially not viewable, it never sets at our latitude. By midnight, it will be rising in the north-northeast. In six months from now, it will be almost exactly overhead during the bitter cold evenings of January.
Sunday:
The brightening waxing Gibbous Moon will diminish the fainter stars, leaving Summer’s brightest star, Arcturus, conspicuous west-southwest, halfway up from the horizon at 9:30 PM. The orange-white beacon has expanded into a red-giant, 25 times larger than the Sun, and 100 times brighter.
Monday:
Look for a W-shape pattern of stars, low in the north-northeast this evening, which forms the basis of the throne for the Queen, Cassiopeia. It is tipped on its back during the summer, gradually climbing higher each evening, so that it is completely upside-down, later this fall.