Today:
If starting with a glance to the northwest around sunset, the progression of the evening will feature Ursa Major, the Big Bear, appearing to dive toward the northern horizon, and then lifting back away from the horizon after midnight. It will circle around Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. In turn, Ursa Minor will circle around the star at its tail, The North Star, otherwise known as Polaris.
Thursday:
The Milky Way becomes more prominent through the Fall, stretching from northeast to southwest across the top of the sky. It is our view of the Milky Way Galaxy from the inside, looking out. The Sun is embedded in a great disc of stars, and we are looking sideways through the thicker portion of the disc.
Friday:
The most distant object visible to human eyes without the help of binoculars or telescopes is the Andromeda Galaxy, more than 2.4 million light years away. You’ll find it very high in the east about 10:45 PM EDT, just above the middle star in the constellation Andromeda, the Princess.