Disappearing Sirius
Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is disappearing in the evening twilight. Look for the star blazing low in the southwest beginning in early twilight. It sets a couple of hours after the Sun.
May Day
In Britain, today is known as May Day. In ancient times, it marked the beginning of summer, not the middle of spring. It is one of the year’s four cross-quarter days, which come roughly halfway between a solstice and an equinox.
Hydra
Hydra, the water snake, slithers low across the sky on spring evenings. Its faint head is in the southwest at nightfall, with its sinuous body stretching far to the left of the head.
Moon and Jupiter
Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, looks like a brilliant star. It appears close to the Moon the next couple of nights: to the upper left of the Moon tonight, and a little closer below the Moon tomorrow night.
Cor Caroli
Cor Caroli, the “Heart of Charles,” is the leading light of Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs. It’s to the right of the handle of the Big Dipper as night falls, and wheels above the dipper later on.
New Moon
The Moon is “new” today at 2:31 p.m. CDT as it crosses between Earth and the Sun and is lost in the Sun’s glare. It will pop into view as a thin crescent low in the western evening sky by Monday or Tuesday.
Guardians of the Pole
Kochab and Pherkad serve several roles. The stars are part of the body of Ursa Minor, the little bear. They form the outer edge of the bowl of the Little Dipper. And they are “guardians of the pole” – they circle around the Pole Star, Polaris.
Beta Coma Berenices
Tonight, you can see a star that shows us roughly what the Sun would look like seen from 30 light-years away. That’s how far it is to Beta Comae Berenices, a Sun-like star that’s well to the right of the Big Dipper’s handle in early evening.
Moon and Companions
A lovely triangle decorates the dawn tomorrow. Its brighter points are the crescent Moon and the planet Venus, the Morning Star. The final point is less impressive: the planet Saturn, to the upper right of the Moon, is less than one percent as bright as Venus.
Moon and Venus
The Moon and the planet Venus, the brilliant Morning Star, will stand quite low as twilight begins to paint the dawn sky tomorrow. Binoculars or a telescope reveal that, like the Moon, Venus forms a crescent.