Sunday,  June 24, 2012 • Vol. 12--No. 346 • 8 of 25 •  Other Editions

(Continued from page 7)

time, the sun has its annual conjunction with Regulus on or near August 22, or about two months after the summer solstice - or alternatively, one month before the autumn equinox. Regulus will mark the autumn equinox point some 2,100 years into the future.
• By the way, if you can catch Regulus and Mars at late dusk (one to one and one-half hours after sunset), you can draw an imaginary line from Mars

through Regulus to locate the planet Mercury by the horizon. Binoculars help out immensely in your search. If you have a level and unobstructed horizon, Mercury sets a little over one and one-half hours after sunset at mid-northern latitudes.
• Setting times for the sun, moon and planets in your sky
• They moon, Regulus and Mars appear in the western sky at nightfall, and fall toward the western horizon as evening deepens into late night. The moon and Regulus set first at late evening, then Mars later on after midnight. The precise setting times for the moon, Regulus and Mars vary somewhat by latitude and your place within your time zone.
• At nightfall, watch as the waxing crescent moon swings fairly close to the star Regulus as it heads onward for the planet Mars.

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