If you have a low and fairly level horizon to your north, you’ll be able to watch the bright star Capella scrape the northern horizon. It is low in the north-northwest when it appears near 9:30, and is nearly on the horizon, due north, near 12:30 AM, then slowly rising in the northeast, not really noticeable until the morning’s twilight begins near 4 o’clock, with the brilliant Venus well to the right.
Thursday:
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.
Friday:
Though named for a famous hero, the constellation Hercules is a challenge. A clear evening this month will find its “keystone” or “bow-tie” shape directly between the bright star Vega, two thirds of the way up in the sky in the east near midnight, and brilliant orange-white Arcturus, high in the southwestern sky.