On April 8 and, 9, 2022, you'll find the a 1st-quarter moon near Castor and Pollux, the two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini the Twins. Also nearby is Procyon, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor the Lesser Dog.
Blue-white Rigel shines as the brightest star in the constellation Orion the Hunter. It's a hot massive star in the latter stages of its stellar evolution.
The Dog Star, Sirius, is easy to spot because it's the sky's brightest star. Procyon - the other Dog Star - is near its brighter brother on the sky's dome.
Larry Sessions has written many favorite posts in EarthSky's Tonight area. He's a former planetarium director in Little Rock, Fort Worth and Denver and an adjunct faculty member at Metropolitan State University of Denver. He's a longtime member of NASA's Solar System Ambassadors program. His articles have appeared in numerous publications including Space.com, Sky & Telescope, Astronomy and Rolling Stone. His small book on world star lore, Constellations, was published by Running Press.