We at Starry Night Lights are huge fans of the stars and constellations and we would like to encourage you take up star gazing. It is a fun and easy way to enjoy the night and the beauty of our world. Getting started is easy; you do not even need a telescope! There are many things that you can see with your naked eye, and if you want a closer look binoculars are also a useful tool.
101: The most obvious and recognizable object in our night sky is the moon. It can even be clearly seen in the daytime, though in a different form than at night. We can also see five of the nine planets, with our naked eye as well. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, are all bright enough to be seen, though rarely all at the same time. The planet that is the easiest to spot is Venus, which is said to the third brightest object in the sky.
There are also many famous stars and constellations which grace the night sky. We discuss a few that are popular and relatively easy to find in the winter sky. The most famous or most easily recognized constellation is the Big Dipper, which makes up part of Ursa Major. Close to the Big Dipper is the star Polaris or the North Star, which is the brightest star of Ursa Minor. Polaris is practically in direct unison with the Earth’s axis, causing it to appear motionless, with the other stars revolving around it. As a result it has served as a navigational guide for many different peoples. In addition to the Big Dipper, Orion the Hunter is the second most famous constellation. This is mostly because of three stars which make up the belt of the Orion and serve as locators in finding the other constellations. Hanging from Orion’s Belt is his sword. The sword is home to the winter sky’s most amazingly accessible deep sky object, the Orion Nebula. This beautiful, stellar nursery is a birthing place for stars and can be faintly seen with the naked eye, though binoculars or a telescope are required to see the wonderful details that it contains within. To the north of Orion the Hunter, lays another famous constellation, Taurus the Bull, whose star Aldebaran gives off an orange glow. While below Orion the Hunter, lays the brightest star, Sirius ‘the Dog Star’. At the upper left of Orion, one can find the red supergiant star Betelgeuse, which is about a thousand times the diameter of the Sun. Also in this same direction one can find a pair of stars, known as Gemini or the Twins. South of the belt one will find the blue supergiant Rigel, while above Orion lays Capella in Auriga or the Charioteer. Lastly, to the east of Orion’s shoulder lays the constellation Canis Manor the Little Dog. After learning how to recognize these constellations and stars, other less apparent constellations will be a breeze to find.
Winter Stars Map:
