Sun rises at 6:22am
Sun sets at 6:21pm
Moon phase: First quarter crescent, waxing
Moon rises at 9:17am
Moon sets at 10:11pm
Early evening
As the sun sets and the sky darkens, the thin crescent moon will hang above the western horizon this weekend. Directly above the moon is the bright star Aldebaran, thought by some to be the orange eye of Taurus the Bull; but others see it as the tip of one of his horns. To see the horns, make a “V” or a “Peace Sign” with your hand and hold it out towards Taurus, the “V” will be about the same size as a “V” of stars. Aldebaran will be at the tip of the left finger in your Peace Sign. On Saturday, draw an imaginary line between Aldebaran and the moon and just to the right of the middle of that line is the beautiful star cluster, the Pleiades, or “Seven Sisters.” By Sunday, the moon has shifted to a position that has Aldebaran above and the Pleiades to the right.
Any night, at any time, you can draw an imaginary line from the Pleiades straight through Aldebaran and keep going to pass through the three stars of the belt of Orion the Hunter. Continue that line to hit the Dog Star, Sirius. This imaginary line is so easy to place due to Orion’s belt being easy to find, and it will help you locate four constellations on almost any night. Orion, Taurus, the Pleiades – looking right. Orion, Canis Major - looking left.
All night long
Jupiter is in “opposition” this week, which means it’s directly opposite the sky in our sky. When the sun is setting in the west, Jupiter is rising in the east. As our side of the earth turns its back on the sun for a long night, we turn our faces to Jupiter. Jupiter is directly overhead at midnight, and sets in the west as the sun rises in the east. This means if you have a telescope or a good pair of binoculars, the view of Jupiter is optimal right now, brightly lit and surrounded by her moons.Jupiter is, in fact, the fourth brightest celestial object, after the sun, moon and the planet Venus. At present, however, Venus only shines in the early morning sky, just before sunrise. Jupiter is even brighter than Sirius, the brightest true star.
Late night
Look for Mars to rise about 11:30 and Saturn to rise about an hour after that. They will climb into the zenith zone (overhead) by about 4:30am. Anytime between those hours will be prime telescope time – Saturn’s rings are especially beautiful at present, tilted as they are, towards the earth’s point of view.
If you are out later on in the week, each star rises about four minutes earlier each day than written here, and the moon rises 50 minutes later.
Researched and compiled by Lisa Davis-Burnett
