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Here are five ways to see a shower of meteors or other celestial events near you.
Wochit

Starry Starry Night(Photo: photo of the PDN file)

Welcome to the mania of the planet. We started the year with virtually no planet in our early evening sky, but this week you can see four of the five visible planets. All you have to do is go out and watch.

You will probably want to make this trip around 19:50. this week since it's an hour after sunset. Of course, you can watch one of our beautiful sunsets and as it begins to get dark, you will see a very bright star appear to the left of where the sun is gone. This is not a star, of course, it is Venus. And if you look around a fist width below Venus and to the right, you will see another "star". It will not be as bright as Venus and it's not a star. It's Mercury.

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Now turn 90 degrees on your left and enjoy Crux the Southern Cross near the south horizon. You will notice that it is already starting to lean to the right and that in August, it will disappear under the southwest horizon. Measure four fist widths from the Southern Cross and a few fist widths to the left and you will come to what looks like another bright star. This is not a star, it is your third planet Jupiter.

Saturn reaches the opposition

Now, turn another 90 degrees to the left and face east. The first thing you will probably notice at the beginning of the week is the bright and shining moon, but if you face east and you measure three fist widths to the right and a fist width upwards, you will find a bright star. This is not a star either, it is Saturn.

And if you are not sure you have found Saturn, wait until Thursday. Saturn reaches the opposition on Thursday. This means that the sun, the Earth and Saturn are aligned with the Earth in the middle.

Although we did not call opposition, at full moon, the sun, the Earth and the moon are aligned with the Earth in the middle. The full moon is also this Thursday and this "star" shining just above and to the right of the moon is Saturn. Four planets and a full moon. Not bad for an evening.

And now, let's all hope the weather cooperates because I'm going to tell you how to find my favorite unofficial constellation. If you look at Saturn, turn 90 degrees and face north. Look straight up and you will see a bright red star. This is Arcturus, the fourth brightest star.

Catch the dripping ice cream cone

Going down from Arcturus to the north and slightly to the east, you should see an elongated triangle of stars with Arcturus as the upper point. Does it look like an ice cream cone with a pointed end? At the open end of the cone, you should see another star, making the shape of an ice cream scoop.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, you will have found my favorite unofficial constellation, the Ice Cream Cone. And if you spend time watching it this week, you may notice something really strange. You can catch it, because the Ice Cream Cone will throw you stones this week. The ice cream cone is really Bootes the Herdsman and this week is the best time for the Bootid meteor shower. Although this full moon may prevent you from seeing the streaks of light, it's worth watching. Planets, fresh constellations and an Ice Cream Cone. The sky is wonderful. Take a look tonight.

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Pam Eastlick is the Star Lady.

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