Cold weather may tempt you to stay indoors during the winter months, but the winter constellations are some of the best for interesting objects and ancient stories. Whether you have binoculars, a telescope, or just the naked eye, here are the brightest constellations and some fascinating things to look for in them.
A free stargazing app can help you identify these constellations if you’re not familiar with them yet. Before using the app, lower your screen brightness, enable night mode for a reddish screen, and mute the in-app music.
TAURUS
Taurus is depicted as a bull in the night sky across many cultures around the world. The face of the bull looks like a perfect V, but if it’s still low on the horizon, it will be turned on its side. Find the red star in the V. I call it the angry red eye of the bull. That’s the star Aldebaran, a red giant. A red giant is an aging star that is expanding and cooling. One day, it will collapse and shed material, creating a supernova that will be visible during the day.
PLEIADES
The Pleiades is lumped into the Taurus constellation in modern astronomy, but most cultures regard it as a separate group of stars. I am often asked if it’s the Little Dipper because the stars form a similar shape. Although six stars are visible to the naked eye, many ancient cultures have stories about the Seven Sisters (or seven brothers, in some cases). Some of those stories include a tale of what happened to the seventh star that isn’t visible.
My favorite of these stories comes from the Nez Perce of Northern Idaho, who were my neighbors when I was growing up there. In their story, these sisters were immortal, and one of them married a mortal man. When her husband died, she grieved and grieved. Her sisters told her, “You knew he would die. Get over it.” This made her even sadder, and when they mocked her, she pulled the sky over herself like a blanket to hide from her sisters.
Of course, not every culture shares the same names for the stars or constellations. In Japanese, this star cluster is called Subaru. Yes, just like the car company. Keep in mind that this cluster of stars was called Subaru for thousands of years before we invented cars and was not named after the car company. The story I heard was that five small companies merged into one large one. The next time you see a Subaru, look at the emblem on the front to see the one large star and five small stars that represent the Pleiades.
When Galileo first pointed his telescope at this cluster of bright stars, he was amazed to count not six, but forty! With today’s sophisticated telescopes, we’ve been able to count over a thousand.
ORION
Most people readily recognize Orion in the winter sky by finding the three stars of his belt. Some cultures see Orion as a hunter or warrior. When he is lower on the horizon, he looks like he’s taking a nap on his side, but as he rises higher overhead, he appears to be standing upright. You’ll notice a bright red star as one of his shoulders. Like Aldebaran in Taurus, this is a red giant. This is the star Betleguese (pronounced Beetlejuice…but don’t say that three times fast).
Hanging from Orion’s belt is a sword or dagger. It’s made of three evenly spaced stars, although they are closer together than the stars in his belt. Look for the bottom star in the sword, then look up to the middle one. Notice that it’s more dim and somewhat fuzzy. That’s not a star at all. You’re looking at a nebula.
Orion’s Nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas that has been illuminated by a small cluster of young stars. In fact, Orion’s Nebula is seen by astronomers as a star nursery with over 700 stars in various stages of formation.
Not every culture saw a hunter in the stars of Orion, though. The Maori of New Zealand saw a canoe with three brothers who had caught three fish, while the Crow of Montana saw a woman’s hand. You can see depictions of these, along with their stories, in the article I wrote called “Orion Across 3 Cultures: One Sky, Many Stories.”
GEMINI
In Greek and Roman mythology, Gemini was seen as twins in the night sky. They had the same mother, but different fathers. One twin, Pollux, was the immortal son of Zeus, while the other, Castor, was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta. When Castor died, Pollux was so grief-stricken that Zeus took pity on him and put the brothers together in the sky forever.
If you saw The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, you may remember the characters Castor and Pollux, the twins who were part of Katniss Everdeen’s camera crew. I won’t give away the outcome of the brothers, although, knowing the mythology, you can probably guess.
CANIS MAJOR
Canis Major means “Big Dog.” He is located near the feet of Orion as his faithful hunting dog. Canis Major is home to the brightest star in all of the Earth’s night sky, Sirius, nicknamed the “Dog Star.” When low on the horizon in early winter, Sirius tends to flicker sharply, flashing colors of green, red, and white. As it moves higher into the sky, the flickering diminishes, and the star shines bright white.
The ancient Egyptians used Sirius to discover that a solar year (the time it takes the Earth to make one orbit around the sun) was 365 days, while every four years it took an extra day to reappear. For the Egyptians, Sirius was more important when seen in the summer. They watched the predawn sky until they finally spotted Sirius rise just before sunrise, known in astronomy as a heliacal rising. From there, they could count 365 days until this happened again. The early-morning arrival reminded them that the Nile River was about to flood, bringing valuable nutrients to their farmlands, and that it was time to prepare for planting season.
The heliacal rising of Sirius happened at the hottest time of the year in Egypt. They believed that the stifling temperature was caused by the Sun and Sirius combining their heat. They called this time of year the Dog Days of Summer, thanks to the Dog Star.
CANIS MINOR
Canis Major means “Little Dog.” It is made of just a few stars, making one wonder what the ancient people might have been smoking to make them envision a dog. It has one bright star, Procyon.
WINTER HEXAGON
The Winter Hexagon is not a constellation, but rather the connection of the brightest stars in six constellations to form a hexagon.
- Sirius in Canis Major
- Rigel in Orion
- Aldebaran in Taurus
- Capella in Auriga
- Castor & Pollux in Gemini
- Procyon in Canis Minor
TIPS FOR WINTER STARGAZING
Many people avoid stargazing in winter because of the cold, but it’s one of the best times of year for beautiful constellations and fascinating star stories. For tips on how to best enjoy winter stargazing, listen to my podcast interview with Gnome Matter the Weather.
FREE STARGAZING GUIDE
If you haven’t already signed up for the free Night Sky Tourist Stargazing Guide, be sure to get it today. Each year, you’ll automatically get an updated edition.
