Waning Crescent Moon and Venus

A thin crescent moon appears low in the southeastern sky tomorrow morning, not far from the brilliant planet Venus. These are the two brightest celestial objects of the night. They are an impressive pair, appearing above the first light of dawn. Both are in the zodiacal constellation Aquarius.

The time to look is at 5 a.m. or before.

Spring Stars and Star Clusters

The Big Dipper is in a perfect viewing position in spring. An hour after sunset, the constellation is almost overhead.

The handle of the Big Dipper points to the bright star Arcturus, in the constellation Bootes. Arcturus is high in the east and it gets higher.

Rising behind Arcturus is the constellation Hercules, the gateway to the stars of summer. Herculus has three faint telescopic star clusters. One of the star clusters, called M13, resides in the center of the constellation and is barely bright enough to be seen by the unaided eye. A pair of binoculars renders a pretty tight gathering of stars that looks like a distant fuzzy ball. Through a telescope, the little fuzz ball becomes thousands of tightly packed stars.