THE STARS THIS WEEK

Chart time 7 p.m.

Sunday

Lepus the Hare scampers across the southern skies during mid-evening. This constellation ies close to neighboring Orion the Hunter. Lepus contains a number of colorful double stars and deep-sky objects.

Monday

Cygnus the Swan is well-placed for viewing in the west after sundown. Nicknamed the Northern Cross, this constellation has a rich portion of the Milky Way flowing through its borders.

Tuesday

The blazing bright bluewhite Venus lights up the southeastern skies before dawn, outshining all the stars visible. Telescopes will give stargazers a peek at the planet’s featurelessphase shape.

Wednesday

The moon shines to the south of the bright bluewhite star, Regulus. This star, the most brilliant member of Leo the Lion, is nicknamed the royal star.

Thursday

Below Venus shines yellow Jupiter. A telescope and binoculars will show off the planet’s four largest moons and colorful bands.

Weekend

The moon reaches lastquarter phase on Saturday. This is a good time to search for craters and surface features with your telescopes. The late-rising moon will not appear until after midnight.