Today:
Tomorrow morning, starting near 4:45, but best viewed from 5:15 to 5:45 AM, Leo the Lion will be rising in the east-northeast. Venus and the Crescent Moon will be closely clustered around the lion’s breastbone and brightest star, Regulus. The Moon will only reveal 5 percent of its surface, while Venus appears just to the Moon’s lower right, and Regulus shines 100 times fainter than Venus, to its lower right.
Friday:
An unusual, and not-well-known phenomenon can be viewed by those up before the “crack of dawn, about 2 hours before sunrise, or about 4:30 AM. Looking east on a clear, moonless morning, a wedge of light, leaning its triangular shape to the upper right is not early dawn, but “Zodiacal Light”, sunlight reflecting off the numerous particles that orbit the sun at the same level or plane as all of the planets. It’s more conveniently seen in the evenings near the Spring Equinox.
Saturday:
Saturn will rise just south of east at around 7:30 this evening, in between Pisces and Aquarius. Tonight and tomorrow night, the Earth passes between the Sun and Saturn, an arrangement called opposition for Saturn. This places us as close to Saturn as we get, and allows sunlight to reflect directly off the planet, both details helping Saturn to reach its maximum brightness. It rises at sunset, and tracks across the skies all night.