Astronomy Without A Telescope

Finding stars around Orion’s Belt (or go back to Name that Star)

Unlike stars around the Southern Cross, all these stars set at some time during the night, so you can’t see all of these stars all of the time. The Southern Cross never really sets because it just spins around the South Celestial pole—everything further north rises and sets below the horizon.

Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, but only visible in the late evening summer and autumn skies. It’s hard to miss unless there’s cloud.

Always remember that you are looking up to this map of the sky that is steadily shifting west throughout the calendar year. There may be times when you see the saucepan in front of you (say, facing west ) and you will need to look back over your shoulder to see Sirius towards the south east. Aldebaran will be right down on the northern horizon and the Pleiades will be out of sight below the horizon.

If it is winter and hard to find these stars, you can still find other objects of interest. Just click over to stars around Scorpius