• Shortly after sunset, look for the "stationary" planet Saturn near the star Spica, and for the rather wide waxing crescent moon near the red planet Mars. To gauge how far apart Saturn and Mars are on the sky's dome, hold your fist at an arm length. These planets are close to three fist-widths apart.
• Astronomical almanacs list Saturn as being stationary on June 26, 2012, at 9 Universal Time. Converting Universal Time to Central Daylight Time in North America, Saturn is stationary at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, June 26.
• That doesn't mean that Saturn - like Polaris, the North Star - will remain in the same place in the sky all through the night tonight. Saturn will appear at

its highest in the sky at dusk, and it'll descend westward, to set in the west during the wee hours after midnight.
• What stationary means is that - as seen from Earth - Saturn is now staying in one spot relative to the background stars. It's poised in front of the constellation Virgo, momentarily motionless relative to Virgo's brightest star Spica. Since February 8, 2012, Saturn has been moving in retrograde (westward) in front of the constellation Virgo. Today, Saturn is reversing course, soon to go prograde (eastward) through the stars.
• By the way, you can distinguish Saturn form Spica by color. Saturn appears golden whereas Spica sparkles blue-white. If you have difficulty seeing color with the unaided eye, try your luck with binoculars.

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