Winter Night Sky of Northern Hemisphere

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Introduction

Stargazing on a chilled winter night has its own unique experience. Observing those small, bright, twinkling dots in a black background is a hobby and daily routine of both, amateur and professional astronomers. However, saying only astronomers would be wrong. In fact, everyone loves stargazing. Perhaps, this is in the bloodline of the human race. Humans always tried to map the night sky for centuries. Observing stars and creating constellations was one of the earliest forms of astronomy. Ancient Greek, Chinese and Indian texts show numerous mentions and maps of constellations. Ancient astronomers and scholars mapped down the constellations centuries before the telescope was invented. Today, with advanced telescopes and spectroscopy instruments, we are in a whole new era of astronomy.

FYI: Northern winter sky is the Southern summer sky and vice versa.

But we might discuss the achievements in modern astronomy in upcoming articles. If you are living in the northern hemisphere then this article will help you observe the winter night sky. All the well-known stars and constellations that you can observe even with naked eyes during winter are discussed here. By winter night sky, we mean the period between December and March. However, with naked eyes, one might not see all-stars in the night sky. But the brightest ones and prominent ones can be seen easily. So let's start with constellations.

Major Constellations:

With a proper telescope, you can observe about 23 constellations in the winter sky. The prominent ones are Canis Major, Canis Minor, Orion, Auriga, Gemini and Taurus.

(1) Orion:

One of the most famous and one of the easiest constellations to locate is the Orion constellation. Ancients Indian, Chinese, Greek, Roman and Mexican civilisations mentioned Orion in various scientific and religious texts. Islamic astronomy mentioned this constellation as 'al-Jabbar' or the giant. Hindu text Rigveda refers to Orion as a Deer (Mriga). Some other ancient Indian texts compare Orion with Lord Shiva (Natraja). Latin Americans refer to it as 'Las tres Marias' or The Three Marys. Chinese named it Shen (meaning three).

You might have noticed that these names from different cultures have one similarity, they all (at least most of them) used 'three' while naming the Orion. The reason is quite clear. If you observe the shape of the Orion constellation you will see three stars in a single line or the Orion Belt (also discussed in a later part). Searching for three stars in a straight line is the easiest way to find the Orion constellation. January to April is the best time to observe Orion in the northern hemisphere.

Winter Night Sky of Northern Hemisphere (The Scigaze Group))

The three bright stars in a straight line (top to bottom) are Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitak. This alignment is known as the Orion Belt. You can also see four bright stars surrounding the Orion belt. The star at the upper right corner is Bellatrix and the one at the upper left corner is Betelgeuse, the bottom left is Saiph and the bottom right is Rigel. All these stars are some of the brightest stars in the night sky. Hence you can easily see them with naked eyes. The bright star just above Betelgeuse and  Bellatrix is Meissa.

Till now, you have successfully located eight prominent stars of the night sky. These eight star forms the main body of the Orion constellation. You can also see two bright dots below the Orion belt and above Saiph. Among them, one is the Orion nebula (upper dot) and another is the Iota Orionis (bottom dot). However, you might not be able to observe them with the naked eye.

Searching neighbouring stars using Orion Belt:

Now if you move down straight the Orion belt you will see the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius. Now moving in the opposite direction, that is moving up straight the belt, you will see another bright star, Aldebaran (the brightest star in constellation Taurus). 

(2) Taurus:   

After Orion, another prominent constellation is the Taurus constellation. It is one of the oldest constellations in the night sky. Drawings of the Taurus constellation was found in cave paintings dated 15,000 BC. As stated above, its brightest star is Aldebaran (alpha Tauri), which is very easy to locate. It is also the 13th brightest object in the night sky. Locating Aldebaran is the easiest way to find the Taurus constellation. Aldebaran makes it easy to find Hyades cluster. However, Aldebaran is not part of that cluster but they are present merely in a straight line.

Taurus is home to many well-known nebulae including the very famous Crab Nebula and the Crystal Ball Nebula. However, you cannot see them through naked eyes. The second brightest star in the Taurus is Elnath (beta Tauri). El Nath, in Arabic, refers to the bull horn. If you move left of the Aldebaran, you will find Elnath, somewhere above it. 

Winter Night Sky of Northern Hemisphere

The above rough figure can help you locate both, Elnath and Aldebaran. If you are good in your luck and you live somewhere in a pollution-free area, then you can see other stars of the Taurus constellation also. However, the above two brightest stars of the constellation can be seen easily through naked eyes.

Another well known deep-sky object in the Taurus constellation is the Pleiades. Also known as the Seven Sisters, Pleiades or M45 is an open star cluster. Most of the stars in this cluster were formed about 100 million years ago. The Pleiades, in Greek mythology, were the seven divine sisters. The nine brightest stars in the cluster were regarded as the Pleiades and their parents. Hence the cluster is also known as the Seven Sisters. Those seven sister stars are Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Celaeno, Merope, Taygeta, Sterope and the remaining two stars are Atlas and Pleione (parents of Pleiades). Galileo Galilei was the first astronomer to observe the Pleiades through a telescope. Charles Messier also included it in his catalogue (M45). 

(3) Canis Major:

Also known as the "greater dog", Canis Major is imagined as a dog following Orion hunter. The brightest star in the Canis Major is Sirius. Another prominent star in the Canis Major is Mirzam. When you move right to Sirius, the next bright star you see will be Mirzam. Sirius is the 5th closest star to the solar system. Sirius in Greek mean "shining" or "glowing". Sirius is also a part of Winter Triangle which is formed by Sirius, Betelgeuse and Procyon. The second brightest star in the Canis Major is Adhara. Around 4.5 million years ago, Adhara was the brightest star in the night sky. 

The Dolphin Nebula and the Thor's Nebula are some of the most famous deep sky objects of the Canis Major. Dolphin Nebula is located near the center of the constellation. Colliding spiral galaxies, IC 2163 and NGC 2207 are also a part of this constellations. However, it requires a advanced telescope to locate these objects. 

Winter Night Sky of Northern Hemisphere

 There are still many well known stars and constellations you can observe in the night sky. But the prominent ones, which you can see with naked eyes are discussed above. Using this article, you can locate almost all of the brightest stars in the night sky. With a telescope, you can find even more. 

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