Between the brightest star in the skies this evening, Arcturus, high in the southeast at 10 o’clock, and the second brightest, Vega, slightly lower in the east, the faint stars of Hercules offer a challenge to view. Many people look for the bowtie pattern, marking his knees to the upper left, and his shoulders to the lower right.

Friday:
Tomorrow morning, those that get up very early in the morning can watch the wide, waning Crescent Moon rise just before 3 o’clock in the east-southeast, joined by a planet that faded out last February. The ringed-giant Saturn has shifted into the morning skies, with this pair low in the southeast as the Sun’s twilight brightens after 4:30 AM.

Saturday:
An impressive line of bright objects should get your attention about one quarter of the way above the western horizon through the next few evenings. Venus is simply unmistakable, but one of the brightest summer stars gleams well to its right, Capella, while about the same distance to the left shimmers Procyon, the star known as the “little Dog”.