LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – January skies are dominated by one of the most beautiful of constellations, Orion the Hunter.
This stunning pattern of stars is rich with deep sky objects and bright stars.
Of the 10 brightest stars in the sky, Orion has two of them: Rigel and Betelgeuse.
Rigel is a blue supergiant star, 79 times larger than our sun.
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star, much larger than Rigel.
One of the night sky’s most stunning objects is the Great Orion Nebula. Through even a small telescope this mass of dust and gas is very beautiful to observe.
Also found in Orion is the Horsehead Nebula, though a very large telescope is required to see it clearly.
In Greek mythology Orion was a mighty hunter who did battle with Scorpius the Scorpion, a summer constellation.
Like all good hunters, he had two hunting dogs: Canis Major (Big Dog) and Canis Minor (Little Dog).
Canis Major possesses Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.
Canis Minor has Procyon, the eighth brightest star in the sky.
As cold as our nights have been, it is well worth it to bundle up, go outside, and view Orion and his dogs.
John Zimmerman is a resident of Lake County and has been an amateur astronomer for over 50 years. For more information about astronomy and local resources, visit his Web site at www.lakecountyskies.com .