Today:
Due east this evening at 6:50 PM will be a faint cluster of stars called the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. To see them easier, look slightly to their side (either one), and their faint light hits a more sensitive part of your eye. In Japan they are known as “Subaru” – yes, the same as the car – which means “to gather together”.
Friday:
Venus continues to be majestic in the morning skies, rising before 3:30 AM, and seen along side the bright star Spica to its right. Although Spica shines as the 11th brightest star in the heavens, it appears 100 times fainter than Venus. Through the month, Venus loses its height, rising an hour later, and only climbing to one quarter of the way up at month’s end.
Saturday:
Just as the waning Gibbous Moon is rising after 9 o’clock, the planet Jupiter reaches its prime position, high in the south. From this lofty perch, Jupiter appears to command the rising Orion in the southeast, as well as the setting star Vega in the northwest. Jupiter maintains this position in the evenings through the month, though reaching it 4 minutes early each night, close to 7:30 by the end of the month.