The Moon is just past Full as it climbs into the southeast near 9:40 PM, with the red star Antares following to its lower left about 40 minutes later. Antares is often referred to as the “heart” of Scorpius, the Scorpion, beginning its annual crawl across the southern skies. Antares and the Moon will be due south in the wee hours of the morning, near 2:30 AM.
Sunday:
The Big Dipper is high overhead in May. The middle star of the three stars on the handle is known as a “double star”. The brighter star is joined by a fainter companion, known to the Arabs as the “horse and rider”, and was used as an eye test….try it!
Monday:
Gemini, the Twins, are standing on the horizon between west and northwest this evening, Castor on the right and Pollux on the left. It was near the feet of Castor, the name of the brother as well as the star, that in 1781 Sir William Herschel discovered a new planet – the one we now call Uranus.