Today:
The brilliant bluish-white star Vega, appearing one quarter of the way above the northwest horizon as darkness settled in by 5:30 PM, does an interesting thing for the next month or so. It will set tonight about 8:30 PM far to the north. But it will rise again 5 and a half hours later at 2:00 AM, climbing into the northeast.
Wednesday:
High in the northern skies Cassiopeia, the Queen rules from her throne. Finding first the zig-zag of stars that looks like an “M” this time of year, use the fainter stars to perhaps see an upside down throne, the tall back angling lower to the right, and the legs extending up and left.
Thursday:
Venus, a conspicuous beacon the southwest each evening, spent most of last fall very low in the skies. Tonight, though Venus reaches its maximum separation from the Sun, known as its Greateast Eastern Elongation. That leaves it in the evening skies from sunset through 8:30. Venus’s orbit is curving it in our direction, eventually passing between us and the Sun near the Spring Equinox.