Other articles by Tim Hunter:

Venus, Jupiter bright in southwestern sky Best time to observe the star Achernar Many cultures name all of the full moons You'll get 2 different moon views this week Before buying scope, try good binoculars Check out Fomalhaut, the 18th-brightest star Watch overnight as the moon occults Pleiades Look up Tuesday for the hunter's moon Three large constellations visible Follow the thinning moon

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The moon is in a waning crescent phase and does not rise until well after midnight, giving us plenty of time to concentrate on some faint constellations becoming visible in the southeastern sky by 9 p.m.

In the southeast look for Aquarius the Water Carrier, Capricornius the Sea Goat and Piscus Austrinus the Southern Fish.

Because of their faintness, these constellations get bypassed much of the time, though Capricornius has a fairly recognizable shape and is visible in skies somewhat polluted by light.

These are ancient constellations that were quite visible thousands of years ago when many myths and legends were compiled.

The ancients had dark skies and spent plenty of time looking at them.

They used the heavens to tell time at night, to predict upcoming weather, to follow the change of the seasons, and to judge the proper time to plant crops, among many other things.

Since these constellations do not look anything like what they are supposed to represent, they must have been placed in the sky for symbolic purposes. This is often frustrating to beginning observers.

One just has to accept that and enjoy the skies themselves and try to imagine why our ancient forefathers designed the constellations in the ways they did.

While you're at it, be sure to find Fomalhaut. It's a favorite star for amateur astronomers, because it has a catchy name (fish's mouth in Arabic), and it stands as a lonely sentinel in the southern sky. Fomalhaut is 25 light years from us and has a luminosity 16 times that of the sun. It is the 18th brightest star in the sky.