The first thing to notice when observing the night sky is that the stars all remain in the same patterns or constellations. These rise in the east and set in the west but, because the Earth is moving around the Sun, they do so four minutes earlier each night. The result is that over the year different constellations can be seen in the night sky. If, for example, Orion were due south at mid-night early in December, then early in April, Virgo would be in this position.
The Moon does not behave quite like the stars because of its motion as it orbits the Earth once every month, the Moon rises some 50 minutes later each night. The planets alter their positions among the stars, too, but they do this more slowly. They thus appear to rise approximately four minutes earlier each night.
Lunar eclipses, which occur two or three times every year, are easy to observe with the naked eye. These happen when the Moon is full and moves into the Earth's shadow. Other readily observable events include meteors, especially at the time of a meteor shower, and a number of variable stars.
At those times half-way between day and night, at sunset and drawn, the planets Venus and Mercury can be seen, also Saturn and Jupiter and the reddish planet Mars. Solar eclipses are also regular events, but when observing the Sun take particular care so as not to damage your eye.
