The year has flown by and hopefully Christmas will give everyone some time to relax and enjoy the seasons events. The night sky at this time has lots to offer the casual stargazer or the serious observer. There are many bright stars and easy to recognise constellations. Orion “The Hunter” stands high in the South in the late evening and the stars which make up the outline are bright enough to be seen in well-lit areas. The star marking Orion’s Right shoulder is the Red Giant star Betelgeuse and the one marking his left knee is Rigel, a brilliant blue/white star. There are 3 stars in a slanted line which mark Orion’s Belt and below these stars there are some dimmer stars which make up the Sword. The Great Orion Nebula is visible below the Belt stars when viewed using binoculars or a small telescope. Orion also has a bow and it can be seen high above his left shoulder but these stars are quite dim. The Belt stars point downwards towards the brightest object in the late evening sky Sirius. When Sirius is rising it will appear twinkling and flash many colours making it appear like an expensive jewel. Sirius will be seen due South at midnight on New Year’s Eve high above rooftops and unmistakeable. Sirius is known as the “Dog Star” as it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog. The “twinkling” effect, scintillation, is caused by the unsteady currents in our atmosphere, Sirius is pure white and just 8.6 light years away. The term “Dog Days” refers to the hot days of Summer, the Greeks realised that Sirius and the Sun would both be in the sky together and that was believed to be the cause of hot weather. There are a number of dimmer but interesting stars below Sirius and if you have binoculars look a short distance below Sirius and you may see a small cluster of dim stars, M41. There is another bright star which is very easy to locate and it stands above and to the East of Sirius, it is Procyon. Procyon is the brightest star in the small constellation Canis Minor, The Lesser Dog. Procyon has just a couple of nearby dim stars. Both the constellations represent Orion’s Hunting Dogs. There is a dim constellation which is faintly visible below Orion and that is Lepus, The Hare. The hare appears to be huddled below Orion hoping the dogs do not notice him. There are many interesting objects to see in the night sky and the Astronomy Group discusses what there is to see and when at its meetings.  

Take care, I hope this has enthused you to take a peek at the night sky and enjoy the wondrous sights. Happy Christmas to All.    
astronomy@u3aoliva.org