Bright Stars Abound in the Midnight Sky

When I learned about the stars and constellations as a kid, all of the books would employ star charts based on what the sky looked like at 9 pm Standard Time.  So I grew to associate certain constellations with certain months...e.g, Orion, the most prominent constellation of all, was a"January" constellation because, during that month at 9 pm it would cross the imaginary meridian line that divides the eastern from the western celestial hemispheres.  But there's no need for me to wait for January to witness the exact same phenomenon. This is because, every two hours or so, the so-called "months" in the night sky advance by approximately one month.  So it being late November at this writing, were I to step out and look up at 1 am, then the sky would appear the same as if it were late in January at 9 pm.  And since the period from midnight to one is when I usually do my star-gazing nowadays, I find myself skipping ahead one or two months, so to speak.  So instead of looking at the relatively barren "November" sky, I am instead treated to by far the most spectacular, brilliant section of the heavens...

The stars are not distributed across the sky in a homogeneous manner...no, there are vast areas of dim stars and open gaps between them, while in others the bright stars all seem clumped together.  This is especially true with the "winter" sky as a relatively small section of the sky is loaded with very bright first and second magnitude stars.  I'm speaking of the constellations Orion, Taurus, Auriga, Gemini, Canis Major, and Canis Minor.  If you draw connecting lines between the stars Rigel (in Orion), Aldeberan (in Taurus), Capella (in Auriga), Castor and Pollux (in Gemini), Procyon (in Canis Minor), Sirius (in Canis Major), and back to Rigel, you would come away with a rough approximation of a vertical ellipse.  Everything on the ellipse and inside is a star-gazer's paradise...outside the stars thin out and grow dimmer...

This past weekend the nights were crisp and cold, and the stars stood out more brightly than normal.  Now, though, we're in a heat wave for this time of the year...but things should get better after the approaching cold front passes through.  Once the night skies are clear again, try stepping out around midnight...and watch the spectacle above you...

And in case you need a guide to the constellations and stars I've mentioned, here is a link to a great interactive star map: [link]. You can adjust the location on it to more closely correspond to where you are.  Since I live in Gainesville, Florida, I just clicked on Jacksonville.  As for the time, it shows by default the sky at the current time...if you want to see what it will look like, say, at 1 am, then you can adjust the settings for that time...