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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Posts Tagged ‘Capella’

Sky Tonight—April 8, Star Capella and a heavenly

Sky Tonight—April 8, Star Capella and a heavenly Chariot fly west at nightfall

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org As darkness falls, there are several ways to distinguish the brilliant star Capella from the other bright stars in the western half of the sky. Capella, the northernmost first-magnitude star, is the farthest bright star to your right as you are facing west. In addition, Capella looks yellow, like our sun. Moreover, Capella has a famous trio of starlets accompanying her, dubbed “The Kids.” Capella: Stellar ... Full Story

Sky Tonight—March 13, Moon shines in front of Winter

Sky Tonight—March 13, Moon shines in front of Winter Circle

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org As seen tonight from all over the world, the moon passes right in front of the great big loop of stars known to northern hemisphere residents as the Winter Circle or the Winter Hexagon. This huge star formation makes even the constellation Orion the Hunter look small. Orion sits in the southwest (lower right) corner of the Winter Circle. The Winter Circle is an asterism – a group of stars that is NOT a ... Full Story

Sky Tonight—March 12, Moon between Capella and

Sky Tonight—March 12, Moon between Capella and Betelgeuse

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org The first quarter moon will be shining between two brilliant stars tonight. Capella, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, will be beaming north of the moon, while Betelgeuse, the star marking the right shoulder in the constellation Orion, will be shining south of the moon. From mid-northern latitudes in Europe and Asia, you will see the moon farther west (right), and closer to the star Aldebaran, than ... Full Story

Sky Tonight-Feb 26, Epsilon Aurigae, the

Sky Tonight-Feb 26, Epsilon Aurigae, the Charioteer’s distant and mysterious star

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org At early evening, look up high for the brilliant star Capella, the brightest in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer. Close to Capella, note the prominent triangle of starlets called The Kids. Lighting up the apex of this triangle is the star Epsilon Aurigae (Almaaz), one of the most mysterious stars in all the heavens. More on Capella: Golden Goat Star Although Capella looks much brighter than Epsilon, that ... Full Story

Sky Tonight—February 13, Moon points the way to

Sky Tonight—February 13, Moon points the way to Winter Circle

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Tonight’s waxing gibbous moon resides inside the Winter Circle – an incredibly large star configuration made of six brilliant winter stars. Be sure to notice the variety in the colors of these stars. The Winter Circle – sometimes called the Winter Hexagon – is not one of the 88 recognized constellations. Rather, it is an asterism – a pattern of stars that is easy to recognize. Our sky chart cannot ... Full Story

Sky Tonight—January 21, Identify the Winter Circle

Sky Tonight—January 21, Identify the Winter Circle and winter’s brightest stars

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Tonight’s chart covers a wider area of sky than what we typically show. It is in answer to a reader in Nashville, who wrote, I have heard mention of the Winter Circle of Stars. Could you list the stars in this circle? You will find these stars at this time of year by looking east-southeast at early to mid evening. Again, this is a large pattern and covers a wide area of sky, but as always, it is easiest to start ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—December 10, Celestial Chariot high

EarthSky Tonight—December 10, Celestial Chariot high overhead at midnight

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org On these long December nights, you can find the constellation Auriga the Charioteer. The Heavenly Chariot – with its brilliant yellow star Capella – starts the journey in the northeast at dusk, flies overhead at midnight and finishes up in the northwest at dawn. Our chart shows Auriga at around midnight, when this pentagon-shaped pattern hits the zenith, or highest point in the sky. With no moon in sight, a ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—December 6, Winter Circle up by

EarthSky Tonight—December 6, Winter Circle up by late evening

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org You will have to stay up until 9 or 10 p.m. tonight to see the exceptionally brilliant and huge Winter Circle filling up the eastern portion of sky. This famous sky pattern is not a constellation. It is an asterism: a noticeable pattern on the sky’s dome. In this case, the pattern is made of the brightest stars of winter, in many different constellations. From a dark sky, you will see the Milky Way’s hazy band ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—Nov 26, Can you see the different

EarthSky Tonight—Nov 26, Can you see the different colors of the stars?

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org The stars are like wildflowers, in that each star radiates with a different color of the rainbow. Have you ever noticed star colors? Let’s explore some of the stars that you will see in the meadow of night tonight. In the northeastern sky at evening shines a bright star called Capella, the Little She Goat, in the constellation Auriga. Like brighter Sirius, which does not rise until several hours later in the ... Full Story

EarthSky Tonight—Nov 13, Big Dipper bowl points to

EarthSky Tonight—Nov 13, Big Dipper bowl points to bright star Capella

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org You can use the Big Dipper to find the brilliant star Capella in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer. The top two bowl stars point toward Capella, as we depict on today’s sky chart. The phrase spring up and fall down gives you some idea of the Big Dipper’s place in the evening sky. On fall evenings, the Big Dipper sits way down low in the northern sky. On spring evenings, the Big Dipper shines high ... Full Story

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