Today:
Retrograde motion of Mars ends tonight, which started late last year as the faster Earth passed Mars in our respective orbits. We are now far enough past Mars that its direct, west to east motion resumes. Forming a triangle with the bright Twin stars of Gemini, look left of Mars, toward the twins, where a faint star, Propus, appears, sometimes imagined as where the twins are holding hands.
Monday:
Mercury and Saturn will appear very close together just shortly after sunset, and right along the horizon, just south of west, at 6:15. With difficulty, they will be viewable only for a matter of minutes, until the pair sets at 6:30. For ideal viewing you would need something often hard tome come by in these parts: a perfectly level horizon to the west; binoculars are also helpful.
Tuesday:
By 8:30 PM this evening, the “twin” stars of Gemini appear quite high in the south-southeast, two-thirds of the way up from the horizon, and ride very high across the southern skies. Pollux, a bit brighter and on the lower left, and Castor, on the upper right, are named for the sons of the Greek god Zeus and his mortal lover, Leda.