For the past several months we've enjoyed the celestial antics of the Red Planet, Mars.

We've watched as it posed proudly in the middle of Gemini, the Twins, transformed the constellation into triplets by aligning with its "twin" stars Castor and Pollux, and careened past the Beehive star cluster in the constellation Cancer.

Now it closes out its 2008 performance in heavenly fashion, by teaming with the star Regulus, the ringed planet Saturn, and the thin crescent Moon.

Watch for the show to begin early this week as Mars swings past the bright bluish-white star Regulus - the brightest in the constellation Leo. On the night of Monday, June 30, the two lie less than a degree apart and will create a colorful sight for anyone aiming a low-powered telescope or binoculars in their direction.

Soon, however, the Red Planet will drift past Regulus and head toward the ringed planet, Saturn. On the evening of July 4, the thin crescent moon will join the show, where you can see it low in the western sky at dusk. By the next evening, things will begin looking even more impressive.

On July 5, the moon will have drifted eastward along its own orbit and will form a beautiful straight line connecting them all. It should surprise no one that Saturn, Mars and the moon are aligned like this; they all orbit the sun along roughly the same geometric plane and, from our terrestrial vantage point, appear to trace a line called the ecliptic. It's only by chance that the distant star Regulus also appears along this celestial path. The next evening, Friday, July 6, the moon will form a tight triangle with Saturn and Mars and, if you aim binoculars in their direction you'll be sure to get an impressive - almost three-dimensional - view.

The show isn't quite over yet, though. Mars will continue its eastward movement and, on the night of July 10, will pass less than one degree away from the Ringed Planet.

A fitting farewell, I'd say, for these two planetary showpieces that will soon be lost in the glare of sunset. But, just as one show ends, another begins, and right now - low in the southeastern sky at dusk - a new celestial gem appears in all its glory - the spectacular giant planet, Jupiter.

But that'll be a story for another time.

Dennis Mammana is an astronomy author and photographer, and can be reached via e-mail at mammana@skyscapes.com.

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