Moon and Regulus
The star Regulus leads the Moon across the sky tonight. The bright heart of the lion is close to the upper right of the Moon at nightfall, with the gap increasing as the hours roll by.
Hercules Rising
Hercules climbs into prominence during spring. Most of its stars clear the northeastern horizon by about 11 p.m. Look for a pattern of four moderately bright stars that looks like a shield. This pattern, the Keystone, represents the strongman’s body.
Circumbinary Planet
Astronomers recently found a world that may be similar to Tatooine, the home of Luke Skywalker. Known as Bebop 3b, it orbits both stars in a binary system, giving it double sunsets. The system is high overhead at nightfall, but too faint to see without a telescope.
Moon and Gemini
Pollux, the brightest star of Gemini, is quite close to the Moon tonight. Its “twin” star, Castor, and the brilliant planet Jupiter are a little farther from the Moon. Pollux is much bigger and brighter than the Sun. It’s also cooler, so it looks orange.
Moon and Jupiter
Jupiter stands near the Moon tonight. The solar system’s largest planet looks like a brilliant star, so you can’t miss it. The twin stars of Gemini, Pollux and Castor, are close by, standing almost directly overhead.
Moon and Elnath
Elnath marks the tip of one of the horns of Taurus, the bull. It’s about 130 light-years away, and about five times the size and mass of the Sun. It’s close to the Moon tonight. As night falls, they’re no more than one or two degrees apart.
Hyades
The Hyades star cluster, which outlines the face of Taurus, the bull, is to the lower left of the Moon this evening. Its stars form a “V” shape. The brightest star in the outline is Aldebaran. It’s only about half as distant as the stars of the Hyades, however.
Solar Temple
The Pleaides star cluster is close above the Moon at nightfall. It represents the shoulder of Taurus, the bull. Its brightest stars form the outline of a tiny dipper. Aldebaran, the bright orange eye of Taurus, is well to the left or upper left.
Spring Triangle
Three bright stars form a tall, skinny triangle in the east by 10 or 11 p.m. The brightest is yellow-orange Arcturus, the third-brightest star in the night sky. Spica is far to the right of Arcturus, with Regulus high above and to the right of Spica.
Moon and Venus
The crescent Moon and the planet Venus team up in the evening twilight tonight. Venus is the brilliant Evening Star. It is below the Moon, and it sets by the time the sky gets fully dark.