Orion
©Stellarium

by Gerald Rezes

Winter arrives at 7:27 pm (PST) on December 21, 2023 – the longest night of the year. Winter is a great time for stargazing as long as the weather holds out and in Southern California, this is usually the case.

There are too many stars, constellations, and astronomical objects in the winter sky to detail here. But the winter’s featured constellation has to be Orion. The stars that makeup Orion’s figure are identified in many cultures as a hunter. Astronomically speaking, Orion looks like a large hourglass pattern with three stars making up his waistline belt. Betelgeuse, a large red giant star, marks his right shoulder. In the opposite corner, Orion’s left knee shines Rigel a hot blue supergiant. There are three stars that make Orion’s sword but actually, the middle “star” is the Great Orion Nebula (M42). This brilliant nebula is a hotbed of new star creation and is one of the easiest objects for an amateur astronomer to find and view with any telescope or binoculars.

Moon Phases

  • Dec. 26 – Full Moon full moon
  • Jan. 3 – Last Quarter last quarter moon
  • Jan. 11 – New Moon new moon
  • Jan. 17 – First Quarter first-quarter moon
  • Jan. 25 – Full Moon full moon
  • Feb. 2- Last Quarter last quarter moon
  • Feb. 9 – New Moon new moon
  • Feb. 16 – First Quarter first-quarter moon
  • Feb. 24 – Full Moon full moon
  • Mar. 3 – Last Quarter last quarter moon
  • Mar. 10 – New Moon new moon
  • Mar. 16 – First Quarter first-quarter moon
  • (Source: Griffith Observatory)

The before-mentioned Betelgeuse along with Sirius and Procyon make up the asterism called the Winter Triangle. Sirius, the Dog Star, is the brightest star in the night sky; Procyon is a binary system with a white dwarf star. Rounding out the notable stars in the winter sky are Aldebaran, Capella, Castor, and Pollux.

Opposite the galactic center, the winter presents the Milky Way’s outer arm spanning across the sky. With this river of stars, there are many Messier objects. The before-mentioned Orion Nebula, M42, is probably the most famous winter object.

Next perhaps is M1, The Crab Nebula, which is a circular supernova remnant from an explosion in 1054 AD. M45, The Pleiades, is sometimes mistaken for the Little Dipper but this open cluster of new stars is nowhere near the northern pole. There are several additional open clusters in the winter sky including M41, M35, M36, M37, M38, and M67. Last, there are the Hyades, the nearest open cluster which makes up the “V” in Taurus.

Planets:

  • Mercury will be in the evening sky close to the horizon in December. It’s a morning planet in January at its greatest altitude on January 8. By February, it will be lost to the morning sunrise too close to the horizon.
  • Venus continues to rise as a brilliant morning planet. It will be close to Mars in February and in conjunction with the Moon on February 7.
  • Mars begins its stay in the morning sky. Look for it to be near Venus in February and a conjunction with the Moon on February 7.
  • Jupiter is the bright evening planet all winter in Aries.
  • Saturn spends the winter in Aquarius. It is visible in early winter in the early evening. By February, it is too near the Sun to be visible.
  • Uranus is a well-positioned evening planet leaving Aries headed for Taurus. It is well placed between Jupiter and the Pleiades cluster.
  • Neptune is in Pisces below the southern fish circulet. By February, it will be positioned low in the western sky at nightfall.
  • Pluto is too close to the sun to observe while in Sagittarius.
  • Ref: https://in-the-sky.org/newscalyear.php?year=2024&maxdiff=7 & https://theskylive.com/pluto-info

Meteor Showers

  • December 21-22 – The Ursids peak.
  • January 3-4 – The Quadrantids peak.

Last Updated on November 17, 2023