Monday: One of the finest examples of a double star will soon be setting in the west-northwest, so find it while you can. The rather ordinary looking star Albireo, which marks the tip of Cygnus the Swan's beak, is 15 degrees above the horizon at 6:45 p.m. Albireo will prove anything but ordinary when observed through a telescope, when the star splits into its two components, one being orange and the other blue.

Tuesday: The new moon occurs this morning at 5:37 a.m. An hour later, Venus is visible 16 degrees above the southeast horizon. The red supergiant star Antares is 6-1/2 degrees to the lower right of Venus.

Wednesday: At 7 p.m., the constellation of Andromeda is near overhead. Facing to the northeast, Andromeda resembles the letter "V." The apex of the "V" is Andromeda's head, and the stars trace along her outline. The second star from the apex on the left side of Andromeda is one of the stars at her waist. With binoculars, look 4 degrees to the left of that star to find the Andromeda galaxy. The galaxy will appear as a faint patch of light through binoculars. Tonight, without the moon up, the galaxy can be found without binoculars.

Thursday: The crescent moon is near the planet Neptune low in the west-southwest at 7 p.m. To find Neptune tonight, a telescope and a clear horizon are necessary. After locating the moon, move the telescope 1-1/2 degrees above the moon to Neptune. Neptune will appear like a blue star, though, with magnification of 200x, the planet begins to appear as a small blue disk.

Friday: At 9:30 p.m., the planet Saturn is beginning to clear the eastern horizon. The planet is low at this time, but it will climb higher in the sky as the night progresses.

Saturday: After passing by Neptune two days ago, the crescent moon tonight will be located near the planet Uranus in the southwestern sky. A telescope is not necessary this time around, but a pair of binoculars will be. The moon will be 2 degrees to the upper right of Uranus, and the planet will look like a bluish-green star. Be careful not to confuse Uranus with the slightly brighter star, Phi Aquarii, located above the planet. Phi Aquarii is 2-1/2 degrees to the right of the moon and 1-1/2 degrees to the upper left of Uranus.

Chris Pagan is planetarium director at Tulsa Air and Space Museum, www.tulsaairandspacemuseum.com