"autumn and spring equinox. With a mean apparent magnitude (V-band) of +2.27, it is one of the five stars which make up the 'W' of Cassiopeia, adjacent to the just brighter Schedar (Alpha Cassiopeiae). SN 1572, traditionally known as Tycho's Star, appeared about 5 degrees to the northwest of Caph in 1572. As a star in the deep northern hemisphere of the sky, Beta Cassiopeiae is prominent to viewers in the northern hemisphere but not often seen by those in the southern hemisphere. The constellation of Cassiopeia does not rise above the horizon to viewers in Tasmania, and only low"
"the northern hemisphere's winter sky, between Aries to the west and Gemini to the east; to the north lies Perseus and Auriga, to the southeast Orion, to the south Eridanus, and to the southwest Cetus. In September and October, Taurus is visible in the evening along the eastern horizon. The most favorable time to observe Taurus in the night sky is during the months of December and January. By March and April, the constellation will appear to the west during the evening twilight. This constellation forms part of the zodiac and hence is intersected by the ecliptic. This circle across"
"Winter Hexagon The Winter Hexagon or Winter Circle/Oval is an asterism appearing to be in the form of a hexagon with vertices at Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Pollux, Procyon, and Sirius. It is mostly upon the Northern Hemisphere's celestial sphere. On most locations on Earth (except the South Island of New Zealand and the south of Chile and Argentina and further south), this asterism is prominently in the sky from approximately December to March. In the tropics and southern hemisphere, this (then called ""summer hexagon"") can be extended with the bright star Canopus in the south. Smaller and more regularly shaped"
"M2-9 Minkowski 2-9, abbreviated M2-9 (also known as Minkowski's Butterfly, Twin Jet Nebula, the Wings of a Butterfly Nebula, or just Butterfly Nebula) is a planetary nebula that was discovered by Rudolph Minkowski in 1947. It is located about 2,100 light-years away from Earth in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus. This bipolar nebula takes the peculiar form of twin lobes of material that emanate from a central star. Astronomers have dubbed this object as the ""Twin Jet Nebula"" because of the jets believed to cause the shape of the lobes. Its form also resembles the wings of a butterfly."
"of one another by following various lines traced through various stars in Orion. The stars in the hexagon are parts of six constellations. Counter-clockwise around the hexagon, starting with Rigel, these are Orion, Taurus, Auriga, Gemini, Canis Minor, and Canis Major. Winter Hexagon The Winter Hexagon or Winter Circle/Oval is an asterism appearing to be in the form of a hexagon with vertices at Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Pollux, Procyon, and Sirius. It is mostly upon the Northern Hemisphere's celestial sphere. On most locations on Earth (except the South Island of New Zealand and the south of Chile and Argentina and"
"Cygnus (constellation) Cygnus is a northern constellation lying on the plane of the Milky Way, deriving its name from the Latinized Greek word for swan. The swan is one of the most recognizable constellations of the northern summer and autumn, and it features a prominent asterism known as the Northern Cross (in contrast to the Southern Cross). Cygnus was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Cygnus contains Deneb, one of the brightest stars in the night sky and one corner of the Summer Triangle, as well"
"W appears inverted. Alpha Cassiopeiae, traditionally called Schedar (from the Arabic ""Al Sadr"", ""the breast""), is a multiple star. The primary is an orange-hued giant of magnitude 2.2, 228 ± 2 light-years from Earth. With a luminosity of around 771 times that of the Sun, it has swollen and cooled after exhausting its core hydrogen over its 100 to 200 million-year lifespan, spending much of it as a blue-white B-type main-sequence star. The brightest companion is a magnitude 8.9 yellow dwarf widely separated from the primary, while two other companions are closer and magnitudes 13 and 14 respectively. Beta Cassiopeiae,"
"hemisphere, it is best visible in summer. It is opposite Orion. Ophiuchus is depicted as a man grasping a serpent; the interposition of his body divides the snake constellation Serpens into two parts, Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda, which are in modern times taken with Ophiuchus as one constellation. Ophiuchus straddles the equator but lies predominantly to its south. To wit, Rasalhague, a fairly conspicuous star in its north, never dips below the plane of potential visibility (ignoring the sun's presence in this constellation in November) so is Circumpolar north of 173456 declination. The constellation extends southward to −30° declination."
"Winter Triangle The Winter Triangle is an astronomical asterism formed from three of the brightest stars in the winter sky. It is an imaginary equilateral triangle drawn on the celestial sphere, with its defining vertices at Sirius, Betelgeuse, and Procyon, the primary stars in the three constellations of Canis Major, Orion, and Canis Minor, respectively. For much of the night in the northern winter, the Winter Triangle lies high in the sky at mid-northern latitudes, but can also be seen during autumn in the early morning to the East. In the spring the winter triangle is visible early in the"
"evening to the West before its stars set below the horizon. From the southern hemisphere it appears upside down and lower in the sky during the summer months. The Winter Triangle surrounds most of the faint constellation Monoceros, although its brightest stars are of fourth magnitude and hardly noticeable to the naked eye. The triangle includes two first magnitude stars, while Sirius is even brighter. The other bright stars of the winter sky lie around the triangle: Orion including Rigel; Aldebaran in Taurus; Castor and Pollux in Gemini; and Capella in Auriga. Winter Triangle The Winter Triangle is an astronomical"
"Lacerta Lacerta is one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. Its name is Latin for lizard. A small, faint constellation, it was defined in 1687 by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Its brightest stars form a ""W"" shape similar to that of Cassiopeia, and it is thus sometimes referred to as 'Little Cassiopeia'. It is located between Cygnus, Cassiopeia and Andromeda on the northern celestial sphere. The northern part lies on the Milky Way. Lacerta is typical of Milky Way constellations: no bright galaxies, nor globular clusters, but instead open clusters, for example NGC 7243, the"
"the ""Navigator's Triangle"". From mid-northern latitudes, the Summer Triangle appears virtually overhead around midnight during summer. It is also visible in the eastern sky in early mornings during spring. In autumn evenings, the Triangle is visible in the western sky well until December. From mid-southern latitudes, the asterism appears inverted, with Deneb below Altair, and low in the sky during winter. Summer Triangle The Summer Triangle is an astronomical asterism in the northern celestial hemisphere. The defining vertices of this imaginary triangle are at Altair, Deneb, and Vega, each of which is the brightest star of its constellation (Aquila, Cygnus,"
"Winter Triangle and the Circle. Orion's seven brightest stars form a distinctive hourglass-shaped asterism, or pattern, in the night sky. Four stars—Rigel, Betelgeuse, Bellatrix and Saiph—form a large roughly rectangular shape, in the centre of which lie the three stars of Orion's Belt—Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. Descending from the 'belt' is a smaller line of three stars, Orion's Sword (the middle of which is in fact not a star but the Orion Nebula), also known as the hunter's sword. Many of the stars are luminous hot blue supergiants, with the stars of the belt and sword forming the Orion OB1"
"Northern Cross (asterism) The Northern Cross is a prominent astronomical asterism in the northern hemisphere celestial sphere, corresponding closely with the constellation Cygnus The Swan. It is much larger than the more famous Southern Cross and consists of the brightest stars in Cygnus, Deneb, Sadr, Gienah, Delta Cygni and Albireo. The 'head' of the cross, Deneb, is also part of the Summer Triangle asterism. Like the Summer Triangle, the Northern Cross is a prominent indicator of the seasons. Near midnight, the Cross lies virtually overhead at mid-northern latitudes during the summer months; it can also be seen during spring in"
"pair Messier 81 (one of the brightest galaxies in the sky) and Messier 82 above the bear's head, and Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), a spiral northeast of η Ursae Majoris. The spiral galaxies Messier 108 and Messier 109 are also found in this constellation. The bright planetary nebula Owl Nebula (M97) can be found along the bottom of the bowl of the Big Dipper. M81 is a nearly face-on spiral galaxy 11.8 million light-years from Earth. Like most spiral galaxies, it has a core made up of old stars, with arms filled with young stars and nebulae. Along with M82, it"
"the Earth rather than face-on. Diffuse emission nebula, or H II region, cataloged as M42, and situated south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. Located about 1300 light-years away, it is the closest region of massive star formation to the Earth. The Orion Nebula is one of the most scrutinized and photographed objects in the night sky, and is among the most intensely studied celestial features. Nebula of mixed types, catalogued as M20 and located in Sagittarius. Its name means"
"north, Cancer to the northeast, and Hydra to the east. It does not border Canis Major; Monoceros is in between the two. Covering 183 square degrees, Canis Minor ranks seventy-first of the 88 constellations in size. It appears prominently in the southern sky during the Northern Hemisphere's winter. The constellation boundaries, as set by Eugène Delporte in 1930, are defined by a polygon of 14 sides. In the equatorial coordinate system, the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie between and , while the declination coordinates are between and . Most visible in the evening sky from January to March,"
"Iota Aurigids are a hypothesized shower occurring in mid-November; its parent body may be the asteroid 2000 NL10, but this connection is highly disputed. The hypothesized Iota Aurigids may instead be a faint stream of Taurids. Citations References Online sources ""SIMBAD"" Auriga (constellation) Auriga is one of the 88 modern constellations; it was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. Located north of the celestial equator, its name is the Latin word for “the charioteer”, associating it with various mythological beings, including Erichthonius and Myrtilus. Auriga is most prominent during winter evenings in the northern Hemisphere, along"
"to draw air toward it in a counter-clockwise pattern. Hurricanes and tropical storms (massive low-pressure systems) spin counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. The shadow of a sundial moves clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (opposite of the Southern Hemisphere). During the day, the Sun tends to rise to its maximum at a southerly position except between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator, where the sun can be seen to the north, directly overhead, or to the south at noon dependent on the time of year. When viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, the Moon appears inverted compared to a view from"
"Taurids The Taurids are an annual meteor shower, associated with the comet Encke. The Taurids are actually two separate showers, with a Southern and a Northern component. The Southern Taurids originated from Comet Encke, while the Northern Taurids originated from the asteroid 2004 TG. They are named after their radiant point in the constellation Taurus, where they are seen to come from in the sky. Because of their occurrence in late October and early November, they are also called Halloween fireballs. Encke and the Taurids are believed to be remnants of a much larger comet, which has disintegrated over the"
"the Alpha Monocerotids; which occur from November 15–25 with the peak on November 21–22, the Northern Taurids; which occur from October 20 to December 10, and the Southern Taurids which occur from September 10 – November 20, and the Phoenicids; which occur from November 29 to December 9 with the peak occurring on December 5–6. The Orionids, which occur in late October, sometimes last into November. The Western zodiac signs for the month of November are Scorpio (October 24 – November 22) and Sagittarius (November 23 – December 21). ""This list does not necessarily imply either official status or general"
"the constellation. The recommended three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is ""Tau"". The official constellation boundaries, as set by Eugène Delporte in 1930, are defined by a polygon of 26 segments. In the equatorial coordinate system, the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie between and , while the declination coordinates are between 31.10° and −1.35°. Because a small part of the constellation lies to the south of the celestial equator, this can not be a completely circumpolar constellation at any latitude. During November, the Taurid meteor shower appears to radiate from"
"Sagittarius (constellation) Sagittarius is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for the archer, and its symbol is (Unicode U+2650 ♐), a stylized arrow. Sagittarius is commonly represented as a centaur pulling back a bow. It lies between Scorpius and Ophiuchus to the west and Capricornus and Microscopium to the east. The center of the Milky Way lies in the westernmost part of Sagittarius (see Sagittarius A). As seen from the northern hemisphere, the constellation's"
"series of dark patches in the Milky Way, is more visible and striking in the southern hemisphere than in the northern. It vividly stands out when conditions are otherwise so dark that the Milky Way's central region casts shadows on the ground. Some cultures have discerned shapes in these patches and have given names to these ""dark cloud constellations"". Members of the Inca civilization identified various dark areas or dark nebulae in the Milky Way as animals and associated their appearance with the seasonal rains. Australian Aboriginal astronomy also describes dark cloud constellations, the most famous being the ""emu in"
"Winter solstice The winter solstice (or hibernal solstice), also known as midwinter, is an astronomical phenomenon marking the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. It occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere this is the December solstice and in the Southern Hemisphere this is the June solstice. The axial tilt of Earth and gyroscopic effects of its daily rotation mean that the two opposite points in the sky to which the Earth's"
"Jordan Steakhouse and next to the crab constellation (representing Cancer) was left untouched by renovators to remind visitors of the grime that once covered the ceiling. The starry ceiling contains several astronomical inaccuracies. While the stars within some constellations appear correctly as they would from earth, other constellations are reversed left-to-right, as is the overall arrangement of the constellations on the ceiling. For example, Orion is correctly rendered, but the adjacent constellations Taurus and Gemini are reversed both internally and in their relation to Orion, with Taurus near Orion's raised arm where Gemini should be. One possible explanation is that"
"Taurus (constellation) Taurus (Latin for ""the Bull"") is one of the constellations of the zodiac, which means it is crossed by the plane of the ecliptic. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to at least the Early Bronze Age when it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox. Its importance to the agricultural calendar influenced various bull figures in the mythologies of Ancient Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. A number of features exist that are of interest to"
"three-letter abbreviation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is ""Ori"". Orion is most visible in the evening sky from January to March, winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. In the tropics (less than about 8° from the equator), the constellation transits at the zenith. In the period May–July (summer in the Northern Hemisphere, winter in the Southern Hemisphere), Orion is in the daytime sky and thus not visible at most latitudes. However, for much of Antarctica in the Southern Hemisphere's winter months, the Sun is below the horizon even at midday. Stars"
"Einstein's prediction of the bending of light around the Sun from his general theory of relativity which he published in 1915. Taurus (constellation) Taurus (Latin for ""the Bull"") is one of the constellations of the zodiac, which means it is crossed by the plane of the ecliptic. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to at least the Early Bronze Age when it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox. Its importance to the agricultural calendar influenced various bull figures in the"
"the constellation Libra, but rather in Virgo. The September equinox passed from Libra into Virgo in year −729, will pass into Leo in year 2439. At the equinox, the Sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west. However, because of refraction it will usually appear slightly above the horizon at the moment when its ""true"" middle is rising or setting. For viewers at the north or south poles, it moves virtually horizontally on or above the horizon, not obviously rising or setting apart from the movement in ""declination"" (and hence altitude) of a little under a"
"Reticulum Reticulum is a small, faint constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for a small net, or reticle—a net of crosshairs at the focus of a telescope eyepiece that is used to measure star positions. The constellation is best viewed between October and December, but cannot be seen from middle to northern latitudes. A constellation in this area was introduced by Isaac Habrecht II in his celestial globe in 1621, who named it ""Rhombus"". It was replaced with a somewhat different constellation by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in the eighteenth century; during his stay"
"(so named by John Herschel), which should not be confused with the better known Hourglass Nebula (see above). Reflection nebula in the constellation Orion, cataloged as M78 (see graphic). M78 is the brightest of a group of diffuse reflection nebulae that belong to the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex and is about 1,600 light years distant from the Earth. M78 is easily found in small telescopes as a hazy patch and involves two stars of 10th magnitude. These two stars, HD 38563A and HD 38563B, are responsible for making the cloud of dust in M78 visible by reflecting their light. About"
"(autumn) it travels above the sea, in order to absorb the waters; and in the last three months (winter) it travels over the desert, in order that the grain may not dry up and wither. According to one conception, Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius face northward; Taurus, Virgo, and Capricornus westward; Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius southward; and Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces eastward. Some scholars identified the twelve signs of the zodiac with the twelve tribes of Israel. The four solstices (the Teḳufot of Nisan, Tammuz, Tishrei, and Tevet) are often mentioned as determining the seasons of the year and there are"