The constellation Cancer rises in the east by around 9 p.m. and climbs high across the sky later on. Its stars aren't all that prominent, although binoculars reveal a sparkly group of stars known as the Beehive Cluster.
Weekly Stargazing Tips
Provided by StarDate.org. Unless otherwise specified, viewing times are local time regardless of time zone, and are good for the entire Lower 48 states (and, generally, for Alaska and Hawaii).
December 31: Cancer
January 1: Moon and Elnath
The Moon will skim just a whisker away from the star Elnath tonight. It is the second-brightest star of Taurus, and marks the tip of one of the bull's horns. Despite its brightness, you might want to use binoculars to see it through the lunar glare.
January 2: Wolf Moon
The Moon is full tonight. It's known as the Frost Moon, Moon After Yule, or Wolf Moon. Wolves don't actually howl at the Moon. They may howl more during the full Moon, but that's because they are nocturnal, so they are more active when there's more moonlight.
January 3: Moon and Companions
The Moon has some prominent companions tonight. It's flanked by the brilliant planet Jupiter and the star Pollux, the brighter "twin" of Gemini. Castor, the other twin, is to the upper left of the Moon.
January 4: Vampire Star
Fornax, the furnace, is low in the south-southeast at nightfall. The constellation has only one moderately bright star, Alpha Fornacis. Binoculars show that it's really two stars. One is bigger and heavier than the Sun, while the other is smaller than the Sun.
January 5: Moon and Regulus
The Moon is about three days past full tonight, so the Sun lights up about 90 percent of the lunar hemisphere that faces our way. That makes the Moon nice and bright. But it's not as bright as you might expect: It is only about half as bright as the full Moon.
January 6: Switching Sides
The planet Venus is switching sides today. It is crossing behind the Sun as seen from Earth, so it's moving from the morning sky to the evening sky. Depending on your location, it could emerge as the Evening Star as early as mid- to late February.