Today:
Look high in the northwest, as the sun sets. Again as if hanging by its handle, the Big Dipper hangs in the sky. Focus on the arcing shape of the Big Dipper’s handle. Now imagine a continuation of it, and that longer arc will lead you to the star Arcturus, hence the phrase “arc to Arcturus.”
Thursday:
Tonight’s New Moon means there’s no moonlight in the south to sully the view of the red star Antares, the star appearing about a third of the way up in the south, by 9:30. If you look much higher and to the southwest, Arcturus appears; also much higher and to the southeast, appears the bright and bluish-white star, Vega.
Friday:
As twilight now falls just a little earlier than the beginning of the month, you’ll find the skies dark enough to catch a view of the bluish-white star Spica, low in the southwest. Spica, translated as a “spike of wheat”, sits on the hips of Virgo, long associated with the harvest. In another 6 weeks, Spica becomes lost in the Sun’s glare, about the time that the harvest season begins in earnest.