The Moon barges through a region that’s packed with bright points of light the next couple of nights. All of them will lose a bit of their luster in the glare of the moonlight, but they’ll still form a beautiful ensemble. They’re all in good view by about 10 or 10:30, forming an arc around the Moon.

The pinpoint that’s closest to the Moon is the star Aldebaran. It represents the eye of Taurus, the bull. If you hold out your fist at arm’s length, it will neatly span the distance between the Moon and Aldebaran – about 10 degrees.

The brightest member of the group is the planet Jupiter. It looks like a brilliant star – the brightest object in the sky at that hour other than the Moon. It’s about 17 degrees to the lower left of the Moon.

Elnath, the star at the tip of one of the bull’s horns, is about the same distance from the Moon, to the upper left of Jupiter. It’s the faintest member of the group, but still pretty easy to see. The Moon will huddle especially close to Elnath tomorrow night.

Finally, the point that’s farthest from the Moon is Capella, the brightest star of Auriga, the charioteer. It’s to the left of the Moon by about 25 degrees. That’s two and a half times the width of your fist. The star is quite bright, so you won’t have any trouble picking it out – a member of a quartet of bright pinpoints near the gibbous Moon.

We’ll have more about this beautiful lineup tomorrow.

Script by Damond Benningfield