Keith Wilson has had a lifelong interest in the night sky and has written for space and astronomy publications in both the UK and USA. He lives under the dark night skies of the Isle of Gigha.
By Keith Wilson
Discover Orion
Over Kintyre, the spectacular constellation of Orion is climbing higher in the night sky over the next two months in the south east and it is a constellation which has an easy to recognise pattern – look for the equally spaced three bright stars of Orion’s belt.
The bright red-orange star marking Orion’s shoulder – above and to the left of Orion’s belt – is called Betelgeuse.
It is a huge star, much larger than our Sun, which has burned through most of its fuel, and one day it will explode. That could be tomorrow or in a million years.
The explosion – supernova – will be clearly visible from Earth, even in the daytime!
The brighter of the two blue-white stars marking Orion’s feet – below and to the right of Orion’s belt – is Rigel. It is a much younger star than Betelgeuse and slightly brighter.
Look below the centre star of Orion’s belt and you will see three dim stars that appear to hang off the belt – Orion’s sword.
The middle star appears fuzzy – this is because it’s a mass of glowing gas and dust called the Orion Nebula where thousands of new stars are in the process of being born. A pair of binoculars or a telescope will reveal more detail.
Orion is a great signpost to nearby stars. Try star-hopping to find these:
- Draw a line through the the three stars of Orion’s belt from right to left and you will arrive at the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, in the constellation of Canis Major (the Great Dog);
- If you reverse the process and draw a line left to right through the belt stars you will reach Aldebaran in the constellation of Taurus (the Bull);
- Finally, draw a line from right to left across the two stars marking Orion’s shoulders – the left one is Betelgeuse – and this will bring you to the star Procyon in Canis Major (the Little Dog).
Geminids meteor shower
Debris from the asteroid Phaethon causes the annual Geminids meteor shower. This is probably the best meteor shower of the year and the good news is that, this year, it will be unspoilt by moonlight.
The ‘shooting stars’ are usually bright but slow, and the brighter ones sometimes break up into fragments as they burn up in the atmosphere.
So, if the sky stays clear, take a look on December 14/15. Around midnight, on Thursday December 14 will give you the best chance of seeing them but you might catch the odd one earlier in the evening.