• For the past few evenings, the moon has been passing through the constellation Leo the Lion, with its bright star Regulus and - at this time, in 2012 - the red planet Mars. The moon and the red planet Mars are still close in the evening sky tonight (May 29, 2012). The moon and Mars will be visible all evening before they set after midnight. Look for them in front of Leo's stars.
•The moon is now in a waxing gibbous phase, and on this night Mars will be to the west of the waxing gibbous moon. The moon will continue appearing more illuminated - actually, showing us more of its day side - as it heads towards full moon stage on June 4. Saturn is also in the night sky,

on the opposite side of the moon (and outside of our sky chart).
•Reddish Mars at 0.47 magnitude will be brighter than the stars around it. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo at magnitude 1.34. In astronomy, for magnitude, the lower the magnitude number the brighter the object.
•Leo is one of the 13 zodiac constellations that run astride the ecliptic -- the sun's yearly path in front of the background stars. Leo is also one of the most easily recognizable constellations. Most people can easily see the characteristic backwards question mark formed by some of the stars in the constellation.
•In the Northern Hemisphere, people can use this trick to find Leo: "poke a hole in the Big Dipper's cup and milk will spill on the lion's back." First you need to find the

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