THE STARS THIS WEEK

Chart time 7 p.m. Sunday

The moon glows to the right of the bright bluewhite stars Castor and Pollux late this evening. This pair marks the famous Gemini twins.

Monday

Jupiter reaches conjunction with the sun. The giant world now moves to become visible before dawn by the year’s end.

Tuesday

Mercury also reaches conjunction with the sun this week. It moves into the morning sky and it will shine low in the east before dawn in a few weeks.

Wednesday

The moon sails north of the bright blue-white Regulus. This star marks the heart of Leo the Lion.

Thursday

In the southeast during morning twilight, bluewhite Venus reaches its maximum brightness. This is the time where you can track the planet and see it with your naked eye in the sky after the sun rises.

Weekend

The moon is at lastquarter phase this weekend. This is a good time to search for craters and surface features with your telescopes. Pale gold Saturn shines in the southwest after sunset. Small telescopes will give stargazers a peek at the planet’s famous rings and largest moon Titan. To the left of Saturn glows red Mars.

Send your stargazing questions reports and experiences to Arnold Pearlstein at thestarsthisweek@ gmail.com