Today:
One of the brightest stars in the sky, and part of the Summer Triangle, Vega, is flickering in the northwest by dark. Vega gets its name from the German “Wega”, which came from “Al Waki”, Arabic for “the falling or swooping eagle”. It will set shrtly after 10:00 PM EST.
Friday:
Tonight’s New Moon is ideal for viewing the signature “W” shape of the constellation Cassiopeia, the Queen, surrounded by the star fields of the Milky Way, due north at 6:45 PM EST, and nearly at the top of the sky. The Queen always appears on the opposite side of the North Star from the Big Dipper, very low this evening in the north.
Saturday:
On the next clear evening near 6:30 PM, crossing the zenith you’ll perhaps find the Andromeda Galaxy, the most distant object viewable with the un-aided eye, but quite a challenge. Binoculars will help, and show a bit more, but its distance of 2.5 million light years means only special photography can reveal some of its details.