First Glimpse
For most American skywatchers, the star Capella is just peeking into view in the morning twilight. It’s bright, but it’s quite low as the sky brightens. You need precise timing and a clear north-northeastern horizon to spot it.
Charting a Path
Cygnus, the swan, is a signpost for charting Earth’s path through the galaxy. As you face Cygnus as it rises in the northeast, you’re looking forward in our orbit around the Milky Way. The center of the galaxy is to the right, in Sagittarius.
Vega
Vega, one of the brightest stars of summer nights, is low in the east-northeast at nightfall and soars high overhead later on. It is about 25 light-years away. It’s a bit bigger, brighter, and heavier than the Sun, but just 10 percent the Sun’s age.
Moon and Spica
Spica, the brightest star of the constellation Virgo, is close to the Moon tonight. Spica is actually two stars that are locked in a tight orbit around one another. They are so close together that they are impossible to see as individual stars.
Beta Scorpii
Beta Scorpii, a system of at least six stars, is at the left side of a row of stars that represents the head of Scorpius. It’s low in the southeast at nightfall, above Antares, the scorpion’s bright orange heart.
Scorpion’s Claws
Zubeneschamali and Zubenelgenubi skitter across the southern sky on May evenings. They are far above Antares, the bright heart of the scorpion, which climbs into view by about 10 p.m. Although they are in Libra, they represent the claws of the scorpion.
Morning Mars
Mars is working its way into the morning sky. The planet is quite low in the east during dawn twilight. It will climb a little higher day by day, however, and will be in good view this summer.
Moon and Regulus
The Moon creeps up on the heart of Leo tonight, the star Regulus. Regulus is close to the upper left of the Moon at nightfall. The Moon will move closer before they set, around 2 a.m. They will be closest together as seen from the West Coast.
Omega Centauri
About 160 known globular clusters orbit the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The biggest and brightest is Omega Centauri, which is low in the south this evening. It may be the stripped core of a smaller galaxy that the Milky Way took over long ago.
Moon and Gemini
The Moon lines up with the twins of Gemini this evening – the stars Pollux and Castor. Pollux is the brighter twin and is closer to the Moon. The brilliant planet Jupiter is to the lower right of the Moon.