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are located on or near the ecliptic - or path of the sun, moon and planets - in our sky.
• On the other hand, you'll never hear of the moon or Saturn near Polaris the North Star. If someone tells you they saw the moon or Saturn near Polaris, you'll know that can't be so. The moon and the planets have a set path in the sky, approximately the same path as that followed by the sun each day. That path is the ecliptic. Meanwhile, Polaris is far to the north on the sky's dome, in a part of the sky the moon and planets never visit. So that's your tip for finding planets: always look for planets along the same path across our sky followed by the sun and moon.
• Bottom line: Tonight - May 3, 2012 - look for the bright waxing gibbous moon to appear near the star Spica and planet Saturn in our sky.