• The waning gibbous moon and Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius, will rise over the southeast horizon late tonight. Then tomorrow morning, early risers can seek for Mercury, the solar system's innermost planet, shining in the eastern sky before sunrise.
• First of all, we focus on the moon and Antares, which will be out tonight from

late night until dawn. From around the world, the dazzling evening planet Jupiter will set in the west at about the time that the moon rises in the east. Antares will follow the moon into the sky roughly an hour or so after moonrise.
• Incidentally, you can't miss Jupiter at dusk and early evening. It's by far the brightest star-like object to adorn the evening sky.
• Look for the moon and Antares to rise around midnight or later at mid-northern latitudes (U.S. and Europe). South of the equator - as seen from Australia - the two will be up by mid-evening. Either way, Jupiter's setting in the northwest coincides fairly closely with Antares' rising over the southeast horizon. If you're not one for staying up late, simply get up before dawn to see the moon and Antares higher up in the predawn sky.
• Now let's talk about Mercury, the early bird special! Mercury is now at its greatest elongation - greatest angular distance from the sun - for all of 2013. Mercury lies a whopping 28o west of the sun at present, so it now appears in the eastern sky before sunrise.
• So that's tonight: the moon and Antares from late night till dawn, and the planet Mercury in the east before daybreak!
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