Moon and Gemini
Pollux, the brighter twin of Gemini, is close to the left of the Moon at nightfall. The other twin, Castor, is farther to the upper left of the Moon.
Pollux, the brighter twin of Gemini, is close to the left of the Moon at nightfall. The other twin, Castor, is farther to the upper left of the Moon.
When spring arrives on Tuesday night, the Sun will be passing through Pisces. Over time, the Sun’s location at the vernal equinox slips westward. About 6,500 years ago it was just above the head of Orion the hunter, which tonight is below the Moon at nightfall.
The Moon hangs precariously near a star with a nasty-sounding name tonight: Elnath. The name comes from an Arabic phrase that means “butting” or “goring.” It indicates the star’s position at the tip of one of the horns of Taurus, the bull.
The stars in view at dawn now are the same ones you’ll see as night falls in July and August. Scorpius is low in the south, with Sagittarius to its left. The Big Dipper hangs from its handle in the northwest. And the Summer Triangle stands high in the east.
Two beautiful objects team up this evening: the Moon and the Pleiades. The little star cluster is close above the Moon. Binoculars will help you pick out some of its brighter stars through the moonlight.
Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, stands quite close to the lower left of the crescent Moon at nightfall. Jupiter looks like a brilliant star; only the Moon and the planet Venus outshine it.
Most stars are so faint that our eyes can’t see their color. A few exceptions are in view this evening. Betelgeuse, in the south-southwest at nightfall, is orange. So is Aldebaran, to its right. Rigel, below Betelgeuse, is blue-white, as is Regulus, in the east.
Camelopardalis, the giraffe, is one of the largest constellations, covering a big wedge of the northern sky. But it isn’t very bold. All of its stars are so faint that you need to get away from city lights to see them.
The constellation Argo Navis represented the ship that carried Jason and the Argonauts. But the constellation was unwieldy, so it was split into three constellations: Carina, the keel; Vela, the sail; and Puppis, the deck at the stern of the ship.
The Moon is “new,” so it’s hidden in the Sun’s glare. But coastal residents will feel its presence because the Moon is closest to Earth for the year. The combination of the lunar phase and distance will create some of the highest tides of the year.