Winter Stargazing

EXCEPTIONAL THINGS TO LOOK FOR THIS WINTER

10th February – Saturn at its closest distance to Earth. Shining brilliantly in the constellation of Leo.

USE YOUR PHILIP’S PLANISPHERE TO FIND THE STARS

The key to finding your way around the sky is to identify one constellation and use it as a guide to locate the others. We suggest you locate a key group and then once you have found this, all the others should fall into place.

December, January, February

Orion is the key constellation during the winter months. The belt of three stars are very prominent and they point north-west to Aldebaran in Taurus, the bull, and south-east to Sirius in Canis Major, the larger dog. Aldebaran is at one end of a V-shape of stars called the Hyades, and beyond it lie the Pleiades or Seven Sisters, the brightest star cluster. Betelgeuse, in Orion, along with Sirius make a 'Winter Triangle' with Procyon in Canis Minor, the lesser of the two dogs that follow Orion through the sky. Look out for Saturn in the constellation of Leo.

Philip’s planispheres are available for the following latitudes:
Planisphere 51.5ºN UK, Northern Europe, Canada
Planisphere 42ºN Southern Europe, USA, Japan
Planisphere 32ºN Middle East, Northern Africa
Planisphere 23.5ºN Hawaii, Mexico, Caribbean, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Planisphere 35ºS South America, Southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand

ASTRONOMY BOOK OF THE MONTH

A new edition of this popular month-by-month  guide to the ever-changing night sky. Stargazing 2007 by Heather Couper and Nigel Henbest £6.99

SEE OUR FULL ASTRONOMY RANGE