Don’t miss this week’s sky show

Venus is elegantly rising into the evening sky once again. Look for her to make a soft appearance in the western dusk sky,

Do you know what astrology is really all about? Getting out under the big sky and communing with the planets and stars. Astronomy and astrology were once united until we got overly geeked on science at the expense of the sacred.

This week, try and reconnect with that ancient relationship. Take a step in your old ancestor’s threadbare sandals. Skip the electronic screens for a moment and peacefully gaze at the big overhead display instead. Look up to see the moon meet with Mars, Jupiter, the sun and finally Venus.

Here in the Roaring Fork Valley, we are mostly obsessed with nature as a gymnasium during the day. But have you enjoyed our mountain views at night and simply laid out under the starry sky? The planets and stars claim the ultimate “vert.”

Early on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, look toward the east to see the moon with Mars and Jupiter. They’re close to the Pleiades (if you’re familiar with that asterism). This is for the extremely early birds or very late-night owls. Those of you stumbling out of the bars at closing time might get the bonus of seeing this optical feast in double vision.

The moon next congregates with the sun on Aug. 4 for the Leo new moon. We are now in the thick of Leo season: fiery, hot, dry and for the more recent addition — smoky. Leo heats up the northern hemisphere, ushering the middle of summer. On Aug. 6, the sun reaches 15 degrees of Leo, the exact midpoint between the summer solstice and the fall equinox. Fear not. We’re only at intermission.

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