The 2 outermost stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper always point to the North Star, aka Polaris. That's why astronomers call these stars The Pointers.

As darkness falls on these early August evenings, let the bright moon introduce you to bright Jupiter and golden Saturn. They've close are year and are headed for a great conjunction before 2020 ends.

How to spot the radiant point for the Delta Aquariid meteor shower, going on now. Plus ... why meteors in annual showers have radiant points.

The Delta Aquariids are peaking. And the 2020 Perseid meteor shower gets rolling around now, too. Most importantly, find a dark sky!

Because the moon moves eastward (away from the setting sun) at the rate of about 13 degrees per day, watch for the young moon to shed its shadow as it waxes (increases) in age.

These next several mornings - July 16, 17 and 18, 2020 - enjoy the waning crescent moon, the queen of the night, pairing up with Venus, the queen planet.

Jupiter dominates over the July evening sky, staying out from dusk until dawn. Venus, the sky's brightest planet, lords over the eastern sky at dawn. Mars is roughly midway between Jupiter and Saturn. It's near the moon on the mornings of July 11 and 12, 2020.

Even though - as seen from Earth - Venus appears only slightly more than 1/4 illuminated on July 10, 2020, it is nonetheless shining at its brightest in our morning sky! Look east before sunup for Venus. The bright star nearby is Aldebaran.

Look for the star Altair in the east on July evenings. You'll recognize it for the 2 fainter stars on either side of it ... as if the 3 were "walking the Milky Way hand in hand and three abreast."

The Summer Triangle consists of 3 bright stars - Vega, Deneb and Altair - in 3 different constellations. Deneb also represents the tail of Cygnus the Swan.