Sunrise Sunset

Fri., July 13 5:18 8:15

Sat., July 14 5:19 8:15

Sun., July 15 5:19 8:14

Mon., July 16 5:20 8:14

Tues., July 17 5:21 8:13

Wed., July 18 5:22 8:12

Thurs., July 19 5:23 8:11

Fri., July 20 5:24 8:11

There will be a pretty scene early in the morning this weekend, for those who rise and can watch dawn. The thin crescent moon will pass by two of our brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter.

Tomorrow morning offers the crescent moon appearing just to the west of the two planets. On Sunday morning, all three appear close together to form a tight triangle. The moon appears between Venus and Jupiter; Venus is the brighter of the two planets. All three are in the zodiacal constellation Taurus, the Bull. There is a fourth object appearing near to Venus, a star called Aldebaran.

Aldebaran is the brightest star in Taurus, but on this morning, when compared to Venus, Jupiter and the moon, it appears awfully faint to be a principal star of any constellation.

Remember Taurus? Taurus was one of the constellations we saw last autumn and through the winter. Taurus is now a morning constellation, along with Orion, the hunter, and a whole host of familiar winter constellations. In only four more months, these constellations will be a lot easier to see.

The evening planets of Saturn and Mars are high in our western sky after sunset. The two planets are sharing space in the same constellation, Virgo. Mars is a dullish red color. Saturn is more yellowish and near the bright star, Spica. The two planets are nearly the same brightness.