The Ultimate Guide to Observing the Winter Sky (Northern Hemisphere)
March 2, 2021
Ah, wintertime in the Northern Hemisphere – that festive time of year when nights are long and barren landscapes are blanketed in snow. The sky never ceases to amaze on these cold, crystal-clear winter nights. Fainter stars appear in great profusion while an abundance of first magnitude or brighter stars in the most popular and most recognizable constellations dot the night sky.
Winter is also a popular time of year for many beginning stargazers to try out the new telescopes they found under their Christmas trees.
If you are just getting started or have a little experience stargazing but want to learn more, this guide will help you familiarize yourself with some of the popular wintertime constellations. We will also highlight the coolest observable celestial targets within these constellations. So bundle up, put on your gloves and beanies, warm up some hot chocolate, bring out your new telescope or binocular and let’s do some exploring!
Popular Wintertime Constellations and Asterisms
In ancient times, our ancestors looked towards the heavens and noticed with every season, new groupings of stars would appear in the sky. The predictable cycle of observable constellations repeated year after year. Using their imaginations, they envisioned these groupings as forming patterns that resembled mythological characters, animals, and other objects for which they were named. Many constellations and star names have Greek, Latin, or Roman backgrounds, so you might already be familiar with some of them. One thing is for sure, though: being able to identify the most popular constellations will make your observing sessions much more enjoyable. There are nearly twenty wintertime constellations, but here are some of the more prominent ones:
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Orion Orion, the Hunter in Greek mythology, is one of the most recognizable and easiest to identify constellations in the winter sky of the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is visible in the summer sky and is seen upside down! If you use your imagination, Orion appears like a “bow tie” in the sky! Three medium bright stars in a row, Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka, comprise Orion’s Belt, while the four corner stars, reddish star Betelgeuse top left, Bellatrix top-right, Saiph bottom left, and bluish-white, Rigel bottom-right, make out Orion’s body. Some of the fainter stars create patterns that make Orion appear to be holding a club and shield as he faces a charging Taurus. You might notice three faint stars that make up his sword region, including a “fuzzy star” in the middle. We will cover that later. |
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Taurus Taurus, the Bull, can be seen to the upper right of Orion. This easily recognizable constellation of the zodiac is famous for its V-shaped horns and appears to be charging at Orion. Taurus is easy to find and can be seen from the city. Its bright reddish orange star, Aldebaran, forms one of the bull’s eyes and is helpful in finding the famous Hyades star cluster. Although Aldebaran appears to be part of the cluster, it is actually not and is further away but just lies in the same line of sight. |
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Auriga Auriga, the celestial Charioteer, is shaped like a pentagon and can be found above the constellation Taurus. In fact, both Taurus and Auriga share the same star, El-Nath. Auriga can be identified by its brightest star, Capella, a multiple star system consisting of a group of four stars — two large binary stars, and two fainter binary dwarf stars. Auriga is often shown holding a female goat and three baby goats known as “The Kids,” along with the reins of a chariot. Because part of the winter Milky Way passes through its borders, several bright open clusters are visible. |
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Gemini Gemini, the Twins in Latin, is another constellation of the zodiac and is located to the upper left of Orion and between fellow zodiac constellations Taurus and Cancer. The two brightest stars in the constellation are named after Greek mythology's Pollux and Castor. They represent the heads of the twins. Fainter stars outline their bodies all the way down to their feet. Pollux, a golden star, is known to have an extrasolar planet, or exoplanet. Scientists estimated it has a mass at least 2.3 times that of Jupiter! Castor is white with a tinge of blue, but what makes Castor unique is that it is a triple star, but each of its components is a double star, so there is actually 6 stars in all! |
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Canis Major Canis Major, the Big Dog and Orion’s faithful companion, stands below and to the left of his master, who dominates the winter sky. The three bright stars in Orion’s belt points to the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, also known as the Dog star which makes up the canine’s head. Sirius appears to be a single star, but is in fact, a double star. Its faint companion star is known as Sirius B, “The Pup” and is a white dwarf that orbits the primary star every 50 years, making it a binary star system. Sirius is in close proximity to Earth, only 8.6 light-years away from us. |
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Canis Minor Unlike its bigger brother Canis Major, Canis Minor, the Little Dog, is the smaller of Orion’s two hunting dogs and is located between Canis Major and Gemini. Its constellation is only composed of two naked-eye stars which resemble a straight line. Procyon is the brighter star of the two and is known as “Little Dog Star.” This white yellow star can be located by drawing an imaginary line through the two stars marking Orion's shoulders, Betelgeuse and Bellatrix. And just like Sirius, Procyon is a binary star system with a white dwarf star and is a close neighbor at 11.5 light-years away from us. |
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Lepus Lepus, “the Hare” in Latin, lies south of the celestial equator, but can be seen in the Northern Hemisphere in winter. It is a small constellation and can be found just below Orion. First identified by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy, Lepus is represented as a rabbit being pursued by Orion and his two faithful hunting dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor. Luckily for the rabbit, Orion encountered Taurus the Bull instead, but the rabbit’s position “on the run” is forever etched in the sky. |
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Winter Hexagon One of two major asterisms seen in the winter night sky, the Winter Hexagon is not an official constellation, but an outline formed by seven first magnitude or brighter stars in six prominent winter constellations: Sirius in Canis Major, Procyon in Canis Minor, Pollux in Gemini, Castor in Gemini, Capella in Auriga, Aldebaran in Taurus, and Rigel in Orion. Use your imagination and connect the stars to see this cool wintertime pattern. No binocular or telescope needed. |
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Winter Triangle The second of two major asterisms seen in the winter night sky, the Winter Triangle is also not an official constellation but is an outline formed by three zero magnitude or brighter stars in three prominent winter constellations: Betelgeuse in Orion, Procyon in Canis Minor, and Sirius in Canis Major. Use your imagination and connect the stars to see this cool wintertime triangle of bright stars. No binocular or telescope needed. |
Top Wintertime Celestial Objects
Now that we have identified the brighter, well-known wintertime constellations, let us take a look at the most observable wintertime celestial objects visible in most entry-level and mid-level telescopes from a modest 60mm up to 8” in aperture. Although there are not as many impressive galaxies to view this time of year, there are many star clusters and a famous nebula to see. Springtime is galaxy season, which we will cover in our springtime viewing guide.
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The Orion Nebula (Messier 42) |
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Pleiades Star Cluster (Messier 45) |
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Hyades Star Cluster |
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Crab Nebula (Messier 1) |
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Open Star Clusters (Messier 36, 37, 38) |
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Open Star Cluster (Messier 35) |
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Sirius |
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Open Star Cluster (Messier 41) |
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Open Star Clusters (Messier 46, 47) |
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Globular Star Cluster (Messier 79) |
Helpful Observing Hints
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Get ready! The much-anticipated Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) is brightening and may become 2021's brightest comet. Astronomer Greg Leonard discovered the comet earlier this year, on January 3, 2021, at the Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona. Comet Leonard is heading towards the inner Solar System, closest to Earth and possibly at its brightest on December 12, 2021. It will then continue towards the Sun, making its closest approach on January 3, 2022, exactly one year after it was discovered. Once it swings around our star, Comet Leonard will start its journey back out of our Solar System. Astronomers predict this comet could reach magnitude 4 or brighter, making it viewable in binoculars and possibly with the naked eye. Comets’ behavior, however, is notoriously difficult to predict, so it’s wise to take a “cautiously optimistic” approach. Your best chance to view Comet Leonard in the Northern Hemisphere in 2021 will be during the first 12 mornings of December looking east. Around December 14-16, Comet Leonard will transition to the evening sky and may become visible just after sunset, close to the southwest horizon, as seen from the U.S. The comet will pass very close to Venus on December 17 and will become visible from the Southern Hemisphere. After 2020’s Comet Neowise, will we be treated to back-to-back naked-eye comets? We will find out shortly. Check the SkyPortal app that came with your Celestron telescope or your favorite astronomy websites for more updates on Comet Leonard! |
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On December 28, 2021, the planets Venus and Mercury will be in conjunction. You can find the pair at dusk above the southwestern horizon. The planets will set about one hour and 22 minutes after the Sun. Venus will be to the upper right of Mercury, but the pair will be too far apart to fit within a telescope’s field of view. However, this conjunction is ideal for viewing through binoculars and with the naked eye. Venus will shine at magnitude -4.4, and Mercury at magnitude -0.7. |
Helpful Observing Hints
Tip #1: Use an Astronomy App or Star Chart |
Using a detailed star map is a great way of learning where to locate these celestial wonders or any other celestial objects anytime of the year. It may be an old fashion learning tool, but it just works. The most modern and informative tools today can be found in astronomy apps such as Celestron’s SkyPortal mobile app. This full featured planetarium app is included with the purchase of any Celestron telescope, available from the Apple App Store or Google Play. SkyPortal instantly provides new telescope owners with a wealth of information at their fingertips, including audio and written descriptions about various objects. It also provides its celestial coordinates, a real-time sky map, rise and set times, physical and orbital parameters. |
Tip #2: Seeing Conditions |
Steady seeing conditions are critical while observing objects such as planets, the Moon, or double stars, although deep sky objects such as nebulae and galaxies are less affected by poor seeing conditions. Avoid nights of bad seeing when our atmosphere is turbulent, and your targets appear like shimmering blobs in your telescope’s eyepiece. Start with low magnification and work your way up if the views remain steady. During a night of good seeing, you will be amazed how sharp and detailed objects can appear. |
Tip #3: Telescope Cooldown |
Cool your telescope down! Make sure you bring your telescope outside about an hour or so before you plan to observe to cool it to ambient temperature. It is important for the telescope to reach thermal equilibrium with the outside air temperature to avoid distorted views. Telescopes with large mirrors and lenses may take longer to properly cool down for the best views. |
Tip #4: Collimation |
Collimate, collimate, collimate! If you own a Newtonian or Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, make sure your telescope’s optics are collimated. It can make a difference when it comes to discerning fine detail. If the optics are slightly out of alignment, you may be cheating yourself out of seeing the clearest and sharpest details. Make it a habit to check collimation and adjust as needed once your telescope is cooled down. Most refractor telescopes generally do not need to be collimated. |
Tip #5: Dress in layers |
Wintertime offers us amazing views of intergalactic space with an abundance of cosmic jewels to view, so the cold temperatures should not deter us from venturing outside to use our binoculars or telescopes. Just make sure to dress warmly and in layers in case you need to adjust your clothing as temperatures change as the night goes on. If you have a beanie and scarf, wear them to keep your head, ears, and neck warm. Gloves are useful too, but they can make things difficult such as holding on or changing eyepieces. Wear double socks and insulated boots to keep your feet warm, and if you have hand and foot warmers, they can make a world of difference in keeping warm. |
If you own a Schmidt-Cassegrain or EdgeHD telescope, make sure you use a dew shield to help protect your telescope’s front corrector plate and help prolong the effects of dew. You can browse our Dew Prevention products.
You can learn about the night skies of the Northern Hemisphere with Celestron Sky Maps! This classic collection of seasonal star charts with a glow-in-the-dark luminous star finder, has been around for years. It continues to be popular with beginning stargazers as well as seasoned amateur astronomers because it provides everything you need to find constellations quickly.
Final Thoughts
Wintertime offers you and your family the most memorable celestial targets as cold air often provides crystal clear views than warmer summertime air. However, it can also be a bit of a challenge for one main reason, frigid temperatures in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere! If you plan on observing on a cold winter's night, check the forecast ahead of time. Select a night when your area is not under a threat of bone chilling winds and moisture, which can better your odds of having good seeing and more comfortable viewing conditions.
If you would like to observe right away, consider a computerized GoTo telescope or an app-enabled push-to telescope that will help find celestial objects more quickly. And remember, you do not need to use high power all the time. Sometimes, you can have a different perspective of an object by using lower magnification, especially on wide targets such as the Pleiades star cluster and Orion’s entire sword region. Experiment using different eyepieces and see the difference.
Clear skies and happy observing!
Other articles you might be interested in: Ultimate Guide to Observing the Universe