Night Sky Gazing

Clear cold nights are best for viewing the night sky and discovering the wonderful constellations and planets that are all around us.  Now that we are in February, those clear & cold nights will be happening more frequently so it is time to be aware of what you are looking at!  There are many neat constellations worth checking out this time of year and I've created a list of a few of them.


Orion 

   - Known as "The Hunter"
   - Some say he is holding a lion, a shield, or a bow in one hand. 
   - Other hand has a club or a sword.
   - Most popular for "Orion's Belt"

Where & When: Look just south of the center of the sky around 8-9 PM...progresses through sky from sunset to early morning.



The Famous Dippers....


Ursa Major & Minor ("The Big & Little Dipper")

Ursa Major is latin for "Larger Bear" and is widley known for "The Big Dipper" which is part of the constellation Ursa Major.  Many believe the constellation looks like a bear with the tail being what many know as the big dipper. Once you find the big dipper in the sky, finding the rest of the constellation is fairly easy.  Look for the legs! They are the easiest.

Ursa Minor is Latin for "Little Bear", widely known as "The Little Dipper" and is sometimes hard to see at night, depending on where you live.  The stars can appear a little faint to the eye and many city lights typically make it really hard to see.  At the end of the little dipper is Polaris, the north star.  It is NOT the brightest star in the night sky but is typically easy to find.  The two end stars of the bowl of the big dipper point to Polaris and from there you can look for the rest of the constellation.

Where & When:  Look to the north central part of the sky around midnight/1 AM for the best viewing.  They can be seen through most of the night.

Cassiopeia

Fairly easy constellation to find in the sky due to its "W" shape.  Not to far away from the dippers in the sky.

Where & When: See the dippers above.


Canis Major 

Latin for "Greater Dog" and is known as the dog constellation.  Biggest feature is the star "Sirius" which is the brightest in the night sky.  It serves as the dog's nose.  This star is very noticable in the sky due to its brightness.  Easy way to find it though is to follow the direction Orion's belt is pointing.  It will lead you right to it.  The star has also been called the "Rainbow Star" due to it's frequent flickering appearance. 

Sick of constellations? Ah....interested in Planets?

Venus can be seen in the western sky at dusk until a a couple hours after sunset. Venus is very bright and is hard to miss.

Night sky around 8:30 PM EST.  Venus is setting in the West
with Mars just begining to rise in the East.  Jupiter & the Moon
are near the center of the sky.

Jupiter is also very bright and can be seen until around midnight.  It is fairly close to the moon and is pretty easy to spot.  If you have a powerful telescope, you should be able to zoom in on it and see its moons.

Mars is rising around 8 PM in the Eastern sky and can be seen throughout the night.  It has a red/orange glow to it.

Saturn can be seen rising in the Eastern sky and hanging around the south central part of the sky most of the night.