Today:
Due east at 7:45 PM EST, two thirds up in the sky is the star Algol, which is Arabic for the “evil one”. Ancient people considered the star evil because it was not always the same brightness. Since stars were part of heaven and therefore perfect, any star not perfect was evil. Modern tele-scopes show it is really two stars, one bright, and one dim that occasionally blocks the light of the brighter star.
Wednesday:
Venus has progressed nicely in the southwest, edging higher and therefore visible in the darker part of the evening skies. Accompanying Venus, well to its left sparkles the less-well known star Fomalhaut, and directly above it shines Saturn. As Venus edges higher, Saturn slips lower, foreshadowing their meeting next month in January.
Thursday:
A waxing Gibbous Moon nearly obscures its celestial company with its glow. Barely visible, to the Moon’s left, lie the cluster of stars known as the Seven Sisters, or the Pleiades. Naturally, tonight would not be the ideal night for viewing, but next week, without the Moon, they’re a curious patch of stars, seen even better through binoculars.