What star or planet was above the moon at 0600 PST, at about the 12:30 position? When I first saw it, it looked a little reddish. Was it Mars?
If you’re talking about a star very, very close to the moon this morning, that would be Antares. It’s a reddish star that is sometimes confused with Mars. In fact, the name means “against Ares”, Ares being the Greek name of the same god the Romans call Mars. So Antares is a bit of an impostor, and antagonist, of the real-deal planet.
If you’re interested in finding out things like this in the future, try getting some free planetarium software. Stellarium is fantastic. You can choose a location and move forward or backward in time to see the sky in a very realistic display.
Yup, Antares. The “Your Sky” site at fourmilab.ch does the same thing interactively, so you don’t even have to download any software. The “Your Horizon” view for 48°N 123°W, azimuth 150°, Wed 2009 Jan 21 14:00 UTC shows the moon and Antares right together.
Thanks to you both.
Stellarium seconded. I have it on a laptop, try going outside at night with a chair and small table, you can learn all kinds of stuff. Stellarium even has a red tint display option that will help preserve your night vision.
For the casual observer, the web-based interactive sky charts work adequately. There’s a good one at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/, but free registration is required.