From the flight deck of an aircraft, the northern hemisphere winter (or southern hemisphere’s summer) is the best time to see the features of the night sky. Rising in the east, there are a large number of bright stars. These are the stars of the winter constellations, Taurus/The Bull, Orion/The Hunter, Gemini/The Twins, Auriga the Charioteer, and the two dog constellations —Canis Major and Canis Minor.
During the northern winter, the night sky takes on a spectacular beauty all its own and from an aircraft the clarity of the sky is quite spectacular owed to high altitudes and very low temperatures.
Of the thirty brightest stars visible in the night sky, fifteen of these can be seen during the early part of the year. Twelve of these are visible in our winter skies, and three in the spring sky which will be seen prior to sunrise. This is why we believe that the northern winter and spring sky is the best time of the year for stargazing. The reality is that there are simply a larger number of brighter stars in this area of the sky—regardless of when and where you are viewing them. When you look skywards in the evening sky, look in all directions before gazing east. You’ll notice the number of very bright stars visible in this part of the sky is quite the contrast.
The winter constellations riser early in winter evenings in the east. Most noticeable is a group of stars known as the Pleiades—also known as the Seven Sisters. The group looks like a fuzzy patch in the sky to the naked eye. However, a pair of binoculars shows them as a tightly knit group of many stars, seven of which are brighter than the others.
Following the stars of Taurus into the winter sky are the bright stars of the constellation Orion/The Hunter. Orion is one of the most spectacular constellations in the whole night sky. There are three bright stars within Orion in a line sloping up from left to right. These three stars are known as Orion’s belt. Following the belt upwards to the right, you will come to the star Aldebaran in Taurus. If you follow this line further upwards, you come to the Pleiades star cluster.
The annual (or heliacal) rising of the Pleiades coincides with the yearly flooding of the Nile, which was so important all those years ago. This annual flooding was thought to have been caused by the weeping of the seven sisters in the heavens mourning the loss of a sibling. A more recent interpretation is from the car manufacturer Subaru. They have a badge on the front of all their cars, representing the Pleiades, but it only shows six stars. The missing seventh star is the car! That’s marketing for you!
If you go back to Orion’s belt, follow the line down to the left. It will lead to a very bright star: Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Sirius is often called the “Dog Star” because it is the principal star of the constellation of Canis Major: The Great Dog. Canis Major is one of two dogs in the sky in this part of the sky, the other being Canis Minor: The Little Dog, which is above Sirius and left of Orion.
On the northern horizon, you will notice that the asterism of the Big Dipper is now on the right of the North Celestial Pole and is standing on its tail or handle. The pointer stars of Dubhe and Merak are now level with or higher than Polaris.
From the flight deck, once you get beyond midnight, the stars of spring (or fall in the southern hemisphere) will be rising in the east. The spring sky does not have as many bright stars as the winter. There are just three compared with twelve. But most of the winter stars will still be visible in the western sky after sunset. Look towards the northeastern horizon, and you will see that the Plough (called the Big Dipper in North America) is almost overhead. Follow the curve of the handle of the Plough/Big Dipper down towards the eastern horizon to a bright star, Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation of Bootes/The Herdsman. Follow this curve further down and right towards the horizon to the bright star, Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo/The Virgin. To the right and up from Spica is another bright star Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation of Leo/The Lion.
