In the Sky This Month

Cancer, the crab, is well up in the east at nightfall. Although it is part of the zodiac, its stars are dim. The brightest, Beta Cancri, is so faint you may not be able to see it from a suburb, let alone a bright city.

As Earth turns, most stars rise in the east and set in the west. But a few remain visible all night, every night. These stars are called circumpolar, meaning “around the pole.” In ancient Egypt they were known as the eternal stars.

The constellation Leo is in the east as night falls, with Regulus, its leading light, about a third of the way up the sky. Denebola, the lion’s tail, is far to the lower left of Regulus.

If you have access to a dark skywatching site, this is a great evening to look at the Milky Way. It arcs high over the west as night falls, so it’s quite a sight. And the Moon doesn’t rise until the wee hours of the morning, so it won’t spoil the show.

Saturn is in great view early tomorrow. The giant planet looks like a bright golden star to the right of the Moon at dawn. The orange planet Mars is close by.

The Moon and two planets form an arc in the early morning sky tomorrow. Orange Mars is to the right of the Moon, with golden Saturn to the lower left of the Moon.

Look for Mars to the lower left of the Moon at first light tomorrow. The little planet looks like a bright orange star. Over the next few months, Mars will rise earlier and grow brighter each night as Earth moves closer to it.

From dark skywatching locations, a faint pyramid of light glows faintly in the west after nightfall the next few evenings. This dim glow is the zodiacal light, which is sunlight reflecting off of tiny grains of dust scattered around the inner solar system.

The planet Jupiter will stand close to the lower right of the Moon at first light tomorrow. It looks like a brilliant star. It is the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and the planet Venus.

The planets Venus and Mercury are low in the west at sunset. Venus is the brighter of the two. Tonight, Mercury is close to its upper right. It’s not as bright as Venus, but its proximity to the “evening star” should help you pick it out.