Saturday, November 7, 2009 The waning gibbous Moon is near the twin stars, Castor and Pollux. Exploring the Moon with binoculars reveals the three craters, Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina. These three craters form a remarkable trio. Each crater is about 60 miles in diameter. Apollo 11 landed about 200 miles north of the trio.
Friday, November 6, 2009 Mars is 20° west of Regulus in Leo the Lion. Watch Mars move closer to Regulus for the next several weeks. Mars will be 10° west of the star on December 21st when it starts its retrograde motion. Mars is high in the south at dawn.
Thursday, November 5, 2009 Mercury is at superior conjunction and cannot be seen. Mercury will pass directly behind the Sun today. The swift moving planet will join the evening sky in December.