Look for the gibbous moon about 90 minutes after sunset this week to pass through Scorpius, Sagittarius and below Jupiter in the southern sky. Notice how these summer zodiac constellations are close to the horizon.

As Earth travels around the sun during the year, the sun appears to move against the background of distant stars. The path that marks the sun's journey is called the ecliptic. The ecliptic passes through the 12 zodiac constellations. Because the moon and planets move in the same plane as Earth's orbit, they can be found near the ecliptic. In the summer, Scorpius and Sagittarius can be found close to the horizon in the evening because the sun is at its lowest point in the sky during the winter when it passes through Scorpius and Sagittarius.

When the sun reaches its highest point in the sky in the summer, it passes through Taurus and Gemini. This results in these constellations appearing higher in the sky at night in the winter.