Today:
Tonight’s New Moon means there’s no moonlight in the south to sully the view of the red star Antares, the star appearing about a third of the way up in the south, by 9:30. If you look much higher and to the southwest, Arcturus appears; also much higher and to the southeast, appears the bright and bluish-white star, Vega.
Friday:
As twilight now falls just a little earlier than the beginning of the month, you’ll find the skies dark enough to catch a view of the bluish-white star Spica, low in the southwest. Spica, translated as a “spike of wheat”, sits on the hips of Virgo, long associated with the harvest. In another 6 weeks, Spica becomes lost in the Sun’s glare, about the time that the harvest season begins in earnest.
Saturday:
As the sun sets just before 8 PM, the Waxing Crescent Moon will be due west. By 10 PM, the twilight should be dim enough for the star Regulus to be visible just below and right of The Moon. Looking back toward the west and southwest, The Moon and Regulus align well with Mars, which appears above the moon and to its left, and Spica, higher up and almost due southwest.