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• Why this difference? It's simply because, as we stand on different parts of the globe of Earth, our perspective on the surrounding stars is different.
• Bottom line: Every month, as the moon makes its monthly pilgrimage in front of the constellations of the Zodiac, the moon faithfully passes in between the Gemini stars and Procyon. From around the world on May 25, 2012, watch as the slender waxing crescent moon points out the stars Castor, Pollux and Procyon to you in the western sky at nightfall. The moon is waxing toward full now and the partial lunar eclipse on June 4 - morning from the Americas, evening from Asia. Venus is heading into the sunset, preparing for the last transit of Venus in our lifetimes on June 5-6.

We are surrounded by stars. Because Earth orbits in a flat plane around the sun, we see the sun against the same stars again and again throughout the year. Those constellations, which have been special to people throughout the ages, are the constellations of the Zodiac. Image via Professor Marcia Rieke.