Today:
Draco, the Dragon is not as well known as its neighbors – the Big and Little Dippers, or Big and Little Bears – but it is a beautiful pattern to find in the sky. Look between the two Dippers to see a thin line of faint stars that hooks half-way around the Little Dipper, then curves the other way, topped off with a diamond-shaped head.
Wednesday:
With no Moonlight to compete with tonight, the two brightest stars in our summer skies – Arcturus, high in the south, and Vega, high in the east – guide you to a much fainter star group, Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. Look one third of the way from Arcturus toward Vega, and you will see a faint semi-circle of stars, with a brighter one in the middle. This is Gemma, the jewel in the crown.
Thursday:
Mercury has reached its maximum separation from the Sun, known as its Greatest Eastern Elongation. Over the past 10 days, Mercury has been swinging from behind the Sun, and is now heading toward us. Eventually it sweeps closer to the Sun, making it all but impossible to see by the middle of next week.