Thankfully this summer wasn’t unusually hot here in the Southern California deserts, but I’m still glad for cooling temperatures.
One can only take so many consecutive 100-plus degree days before longing for fireplace weather!
Now that it’s arrived, it’s time for us to turn our attention skyward since the seasons change there, too.
Evening stargazers can see the autumn sky overhead just after dark, but if you’re willing to wait until midnight you’ll see a preview of the magnificent winter stars.
Most obvious in this sky isn’t even a star; it’s the giant planet Jupiter, outshining everything there with its creamy white color.
Jupiter will be reaching its opposition point in early December, when it’ll lie closest to us and brightest in our sky.
The most prominent star grouping in that part of the sky is Orion. Sure, this constellation represents a great hunter, but you’ll have a much easier time tracing its seven brightest stars into an hourglass or bowtie.
Brightest among its stars are bluish-white Rigel and orange Betelgeuse.
At the constellation’s center lie three equally bright stars in a nearly straight line; these represent the midsection of the celestial hunter and form Orion’s “belt.”
These stars are quite useful to help us find our way around the winter sky. If you follow them upward, they’ll point roughly to another orange star known as Aldebaran. This star marks the eye of Taurus, the bull, said to be staring angrily down at Orion.
Surrounding Aldebaran is a V-shaped cluster of stars known as the Hyades. In the lore of the ancients — from Greece to China — the Hyades has been associated with wet and stormy weather; even its name is said to come from an archaic Greek word meaning “to rain.”
If you follow Orion’s three belt stars in the opposite direction (toward the east) you’ll arrive at Sirius.
This dazzling white star represents a diamond in the collar of Orion’s large hunting dog Canis Major and is the brightest star visible in the nighttime sky of Earth.
Sirius is also one of the nearest stars to us, a “mere” 51 trillion miles away. Even as close as this star is, its light still requires 8.6 years to cross that distance. In other words, the light of Sirius we see tonight began its journey in March 2016.
Want to see Sirius as it appears right now? You’ll have to wait for these photons to arrive sometime during August 2032!
Another nearby star, Procyon, appears not far to the north of Sirius. Procyon is the brightest star of Orion’s smaller hunting dog Canis Minor, and it lies “only” 11½ light-years away.
Farther to the north we can find two similar stars known as Castor and Pollux; these represent the heads of the twin brothers of Gemini.
Follow them eastward this week and you’ll encounter a significantly brighter and reddish light: Mars.
Of course, if you prefer to turn in earlier than midnight, you’ll still be able to enjoy this brilliant sky during early evening hours; you’ll just need to be patient for a few more months!
