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on Sunday, January 6, 2013. From Europe and Africa, the moon will shine closer to Spica and farther from Saturn than it does in North America, but the waning crescent moon still will be found in between these two bright sky objects.
• In eastern Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the moon will pair up quite closely with Spica. Moreover, from much of Australia and New Zealand, you'll even be able to watch the moon occult - cover over - Spica. Click here for more information on this lunar occultation of Spica.
• Once you've located the moon, Saturn and Spica, see if you can catch the bright star Antares and the fainter star Zubelgenubi lower in the predawn darkness. On our charts we highlight the ecliptic - the Earth's orbital plane projected onto the sphere of stars - because all the planets of our solar system, and the sun and moon, are always found on or near the ecliptic.
• Our featured sky chart at top shows the sky before dawn begins to break, or before the brightest planet, dazzling Venus, has a chance to rise into the sky. Look above the southeast horizon around 75 to 60 minutes before sunup to catch Venus just over the sunrise point on the horizon. At this time, the brightening twilight is likely to wash out Zubenelgenubi and possibly Spica and Saturn from the sky.
• Looking ahead, the waning crescent moon will pair up with Zubenelgenubi on January 7, with Antares on January 8 and 9, and with Venus on January 10.
• By the way, Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, is the most distant world that you can easily see with the unaided eye. Although it's the second-largest planet in (Continued on page 15)
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