Planerary Photography -- 01-01-2025 -- Jupiter In Taurus With The Hunter and Dogs

Happy New Year 2025, Y'all!

I mean to actually post these the other day, however I've been feeling very under the weather with a severe cold and flu, so I apologize for the delay in posting as I'm still in recovery.

At exactly midnight here on the East Coast of the United States on Wednesday, January 1st -- the official star of New Year's Day in my little corner of Dixie -- I set up my camera and tripod and fixed it overhead into the wonderfully clear sky to capture this outstanding photo of the largest planet in our Solar System, Jupiter, inside the Constellation Taurus The Bull. I was also able to capture the brightest stars of the nearby constellations Orion The Hunter, Canis Major The Greater Dog, and Canis Minor The Lesser Dog.

I duplicated the photo so that I could outline the positions of the constellations, as well as the Winter Circle asterism in the shot.

Look for bright Jupiter overhead and you will easily be able to find the Constellation Taurus since, due to its slow orbit around the Sun, Jupiter is going to remain inside the large V of Taurus well into early May as seen here in North America when the winter constellation disappears from view to give way to the summer stars thanks to the Earth's rotation.

That's all for now, but I plan to have more night sky photography for y'all soon, good weather and clear skies permitting.

Night Sky Photography -- 03-18-2024 -- The Winter Triangle Constellations & Major Stars Before Spring

Last night about 50 minutes after sunset the sky was really clear and so I was able to take this really beautifully clear photo of every major star of the Constellations Orion, Canis Major (The Greater Dog), and Canis Minor (The Lesser Dog) as well as the nearby Constellation Taurus The Bull and its two largest stars: Aldebaran and Elnath.

Very soon we'll be saying goodbye to these constellations -- at least for a few months -- as they will begin to move lower towards the setting sun during the coming spring months here in the Northern Hemisphere. Spring here officially begins on Tuesday, March 19th.

Night Sky Photography -- 03-28-2023 -- How To Use The Constellation Orion As An Astronomical Signpost

Good Evening, fellow stargazers!

One of the coolest things about certain star constellations and asterisms that make up our evening sky dome is that they can be used to locate other nearby constellations and asterisms.

For example, in a previous post, I showed how one can use the Big Dipper to locate two of the major stars in the Spring Triangle and the Great Diamond asterisms.

This evening I took a few great photos of the major stars of the Constellation Orion the Hunter and his two dogs -- the constellations Canis Major The Greater Dog and Canis Minor The Lesser Dog.

Three of the major stars of these three separate constellations -- Betelgeuse in Orion, Procyon in Canis Minor, and Sirius in Canis Major -- form an equilateral triangle asterism in the evening sky called the Winter Triangle.

The Constellation Orion is the key to locating not only two dogs, but also the constellations Taurus The Bull and Gemini The Twins; as well as the Pleiades Star Cluster by following a series of lines using Orion as a starting point.

When you locate the asterism "Orion's Belt" in the sky dome, picture Orion The Hunter standing upright, with the stars Betelgeuse and Bellatrix marking out Orion's left and right shoulders, and Saiph and Rigel marking out his left and right feet.

Follow the three stars of Orion’s Belt down and to the left and draw line to find the bright star Sirius --The Dog Star -- in the Constellation Canis Major The Greater Dog.

Draw a line from Betelgeuse -- Orion's left shoulder -- and keep going to find a solitary bright star, Procyon in the Constellation Canis Minor The Lesser Dog. This line also serves as one of the three triangular lines of The Winter Triangle.

Draw a line from Rigel -- Orion's right foot -- up past Betelgeuse and keep going until you reach the two bright stars Castor and Pollux in the Constellation Gemini The Twins.

Going back to Orion’s Belt, your next target lies up and to the right, following the line of the belt to the bright reddish star Aldebaran in the Constellation Taurus the Bull. If you keep on following this line past Aldebaran, a short distance later you’ll reach the Pleiades Star Cluster (also known as the "Seven Sisters").

If you remember these easy steps, then finding all the major constellations and asterisms near Orion in the evening sky is simple.

Be sure to try it out and please let me know what y'all thought of this little presentation in the comments section below. As always have a wonderful evening and be sure to keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all hear.

Night Sky Photography -- 03-07-2023 -- The Full Worm Moon, The Hunter & His Dogs

This evening, I was blessed with clear skies and was able to capture some good shots of the March 2023 Full Moon -- or Full Worm Moon in North America -- in the evening just after 9 PM EST.

The title shot is the full moon with the foreground of the branches of the blossoming tree in my backyard. A nice little reminder that winter here in South Carolina is almost over (at least officially) and the spring equinox will be here in just two short weeks.

Here is a more clear shot of the full moon without any obstructions.

Now looking more towards the southern sky over the tree tops we can see three important winter constellations all connected by the Winter Triangle asterism: Orion The Hunter and his two dogs: "The Greater Dog" Canis Major and "The Lesser Dog" Canis Minor.

The Constellation Orion is easy to spot with the three stars of "Orion's Belt"  -- Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka -- forming the most easily recognizable asterism in the night sky. The Constellation Canis Major is probably the easiest to find because of the bright white star, Sirius -- the Dog Star -- shining brightly nearby.

Sirius and the star, Betelgeuse, that makes up Orion's shoulder, when joined by the other nearby bright star, Procyon, in the small Constellation Canis Minor, form a nearly perfect triangle-shaped asterism known as the Winter Triangle.

Night Sky Photography -- 04-03-2022 -- Constellation Canis Major "The Greater Dog" & The Winter Triangle

Good evening, fellow Stargazers!

This evening I was able to capture a really good shot of all the major stars of the Constellation Canis Major "The Greater Dog" low in the southern sky about an hour, or so, after sunset. The second photo is a great shot of the Winter Triangle asterism.

Finding the Greater Dog is easy if you know where to look. Locate the three stars of the Winter Triangle: Betelgeuse (in the Constellation Orion), Procyon (in the Constellation Canis Minor), and Sirius -- the brightest star in Canis Major, as well as the brightest star in the night sky seen from Earth.

According to the stories, Canis Major and Canis Minor are the hunting dogs of Orion, and the Winter Triangle connects them.

The Winter Triangle surrounds most of the very faint Constellation Monoceros, although its brightest stars are fourth magnitude and hardly noticeable to the naked eye without a really good telescope lens.

Night Sky Photography -- 02-05-2022 -- Constellation Monoceros The Unicorn

Yeah folks, there really IS a Space Unicorn!

Good evening fellow stargazers!

So tell me, how many of y'all believe in unicorns?

Would you believe me if I told y'all that you can find a unicorn in the night sky in the Northern Hemisphere? Its hard to find, but if you know where to look you can find the faint Constellation Monoceros The Unicorn inside the Winter Triangle asterism.

This evening I focused my camera hard on the Winter Triangle stars to locate the faint stars that make up Monoceros. Because this celestial unicorn contains only fourth magnitude stars its difficult to see with the naked eye. You need a really dark sky to see it.

If y'all know exactly where to locate these particular stars, then you're one step closer to locating the elusive unicorn.

As y'all might remember from my previous Night Sky Photography blog posts, the Winter Triangle is made up of three bright evening stars: Sirius, Procyon, and Betelgeuse. These three are the brightest stars in their respective star constellations: Orion The Hunter, Canis Major (the Greater Dog), and Canis Minor (the Lesser Dog).

My first two photographs taken from my back yard shows the three main stars of the Winter Triangle in the night sky dome this evening. I outlined the Winter Triangle and the constellations in relation to its major stars.

In the last photo I outlined the faint stars of Monoceros The Unicorn found between these three constellations mostly inside the Winter Triangle. And there she is y'all!

Well I hope y'all enjoyed this evening night sky offerings. Be sure to look for Monoceros throughout the winter months late at night in very dark areas away from the city's light pollution.

Night Sky Photography -- 01-31-2022 -- Orion The Hunter & His Dogs In The Southeastern Sky

Good evening fellow stargazers!

This evening I have a couple of good photos of the Constellations Orion The Hunter and his two dogs, the Constellations Canis Minor and Canis Major in the southeastern sky.

The first shot I outlined the constellations main stars -- all of which I managed to capture in the darkness of the night sky over three hours after sunset.

The two major stars of the dogs are the bright star Sirius for Canis Major, and Procyon for Canis Minor. 

As I've mentioned before in previous posts, Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, and the brightest non-planetary object in the sky dome after sunset. At a distance of 8.6 light-years (or 2.64 parsecs), Sirius is one of Earth's nearest neighbors. Sirius is actually a binary star system consisting of a main-sequence star, Sirius A, and a faint white dwarf companion star, Sirius B.

Procyon is the eight-brightest and makes up the smaller, two-star constellation, Canis Minor, the "Lesser Dog". Also a close neighbor relatively speaking, at a distance of just 11.46 light-years (or 3.51 parsecs) from our sun, Procyon is also part of a binary star system which consists of a larger star, Procyon A, in orbit with a faint white dwarf companion star, Procyon B.

According to some ancient mythology, Orion The Hunter is accompanied by his dogs in pursuit of Taurus The Bull through the night sky.

In my second photo, I outlined how easy it is for an amateur stargazer to locate both Sirius and the bright reddish star, Aldebaran "the Eye of the Bull" using Orion's Belt as a guide pointing towards both stars. Both are set in an almost completely straight line going to and from the three stars of the belt.

Both Procyon and Sirius, along with Betelgeuse in the Constellation Orion The Hunter, make up the Winter Triangle. The bright star Rigel and Aldebaran, along with Procyon and Sirius are four of the major stars that make up the Winter Hexagon. All of these are highlighted in my final photo.

I hope y'all enjoyed my photos for this evening, and as always keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all!

Night Sky Photography -- 04-19-2021 -- The Moon & The Twins; Mars Between The Bull's Horns; Orion & His Dogs

Good evening fellow stargazers!

This evening was a beautiful, clear evening for viewing the stars after sunset in the western sky. The beautiful,  crescent moon could be seen overhead alongside Pollux and Castor, the two brightest stars in the Constellation Gemini The Twins.

Thanks to the clear springtime evening sky, I was also able to capture just about all of the brightest stars of all the constellations that make up the Winter Hexagon asterism. The planet Mars can also still be seen in the Constellation Taurus The Bull between the stars Tau Zeta and Elnath -- the bull's horns.

Among the photos I was able to capture a beautiful shot of the Constellation Orion The Hunger and both of his dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor.

I labeled all of the evening skies brightest stars, their constellations, and the Winter Triangle and Winter Hexagon asterisms.

The following are the photos I took.

So I hope y'all enjoyed my evening offerings and as always have a good evening and keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all.

Night Sky Photography -- 01-23-2020 -- Constellations Orion, Lepus, & Canis Major With The Winter Circle & Winter Triangle In Southern Sky

Good evening fellow stargazers!

This evening at midnight I was able to get some shots of some of the major stars in two of the constellations which make up the Winter Circle, and the Winter Triangle. 

The first photo I took with SC HWY 9 in the foreground to give the constellations in the sky dome some scale. It shows the major stars of the Constellations Canis Major The Greater Dog, Lepus The Hare, and the lower part of Orion The Hunter. The Winter Circle I outlined in red.

The Winter Circle -- or Winter Hexagon as it is sometimes referred -- is an asterism appearing to be in the form of a hexagon with vertices at Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Pollux, Procyon, and Sirius. The stars that make up the circle, or hexagon, are parts of six major constellations: Orion, Taurus, Auriga, Gemini, Canis Minor, and Canis Major. 

In my second photo I took a slightly higher and wider shot filling out the three constellations and their major stars. In this photo the Winter Triangle can be clearly seen.

It is an approximately equilateral triangle that shares two vertices (Sirius and Procyon) within the larger asterism. The third vertex is Betelgeuse, which lies near the center of the hexagon. These three stars are three of the ten brightest objects, as viewed from Earth, outside the Solar System. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky and one of the closest stars to Earth at a distance of about 8.6 light-years. Betelgeuse is also particularly easy to locate, being a shoulder of Orion, which assists stargazers in finding the triangle. Once the triangle is located, the larger hexagon may then be found.

Well I hope y'all enjoyed my night sky photography for this evening. Have a wonderful Dixie day and be keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all!