Today:
Rising at 8:10 PM this evening is the first of the two “dog stars”. Procyon literally means to precede, and is the brightest star in the Little Dog. The brilliant Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, rises farther to the southeast about 8:45 PM, along with the waning Gibbous Moon much farther right.
Thursday:
For those that enjoy the early mornings, tomorrow and Saturday mornings will add some interesting celestial viewing. Rising by 3 o’clock, but much higher and easier to view by 6:00 AM, a waning Crescent Moon makes its monthly visit to the bluish-white star Spica, just below the Moon, the pair one third of the way up in the southeast, fading as twilight brightens by 6:30 AM.
Friday:
The waning Crescent Moon continues its early morning display, tomorrow morning moving from Spica, where it was this morning, and over to the company of Venus tomorrow morning. They rise in the east-southeast just before 4:00 AM, climbing higher into the southeast, one quarter of the way up by 6 o’clock, remaining visible until just about sunrise.