Today:
The mid-winter stars rise earlier each evening, as the Earth makes its appointed journey around the Sun. By 9 o’clock, the familiar stars of Orion are in the east, and are joined by the bright star Procyon, just rising at 9:00 PM EST. This is the dominant star in the constellation Canis Minor, the Little Dog.
Thursday:
On Thanksgiving, as we celebrate the harvest and the riches of the soil, look along the northern horizon, where a low and level view shows the Big Dipper. In the British Isles, it is imagined as a plough, with the bowl of the Dipper forming the blade, almost appearing to turn over the ground along the northern horizon.
Friday:
The waxing Gibbous Moon offers the first of two nights in the company of the giant planet Jupiter. As the last of the twilight ebbs from the western skies, you’ll find the Moon to the upper right of Jupiter, close to due east, but sliding to the south through the evening. Tomorrow night, the Moon’s orbit shifts it to Jupiter’s left.