Hunting Dogs
The constellation Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs, is high in the east this evening. To find it, look for bright yellow-orange Arcturus well up in the east as darkness falls. Canes Venatici is to the upper left of Arcturus.
The constellation Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs, is high in the east this evening. To find it, look for bright yellow-orange Arcturus well up in the east as darkness falls. Canes Venatici is to the upper left of Arcturus.
Some of the brightest stars in all the night sky are in view early this evening. Sirius, the brightest of all, is low in the southwest. Orange Betelgeuse is well to its upper right, with Aldebaran to the lower right of Betelgeuse.
Botes is in the east as night falls. Look for its brightest star, yellow-orange Arcturus. The first noticeable star to the left of Arcturus is Izar. To the eye alone, it looks like a single point of light. A telescope reveals two stars; one is orange, the other blue.
The brightest star in the night sky is getting ready to leave it for a while. Sirius, the Dog Star, is low in the southwest as night falls. Over the next few weeks it will sink deeper into the twilight then disappear from view.
Antares, the star that marks the bright orange heart of Scorpius, stands to the lower left of the Moon as they climb into good view tonight, after midnight. Antares will appear about the same distance to the upper right of the Moon tomorrow night.
The fourth-brightest star of Leo represents the lion’s hip. It’s named Delta Leonis as an indication of its ranking within the constellation. But it also has some older names, including Zosma, from an ancient Greek word that means “the girdle.”
The Moon is full at 6:49 p.m. CDT as it lines up opposite the Sun in our sky. Among other names, the full Moon of April is known as the Egg Moon, Grass Moon, or Pink Moon
Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, stands just a whisker away from the full Moon tonight. They are low in the southeast as twilight fades, separated by about half a degree, which is less than the width of a pencil held at arm’s length.
Several bright stars and star patterns stand high in the sky this evening. Regulus, the brightest star of Leo, is in the south. Pollux and Castor, the twins of Gemini, are about the same height in the west. And the Big Dipper hangs upside-down in the northeast.
The Little Dipper is famous for the star at the tip of its handle: Polaris, the North Star. Its second-brightest star is Kochab, at the lip of the bowl. It’s to the right of Polaris at nightfall, and rotates directly above it in the wee hours of the morning.