When the sun or any star is in the western sky, it’s descending downward. When the sun or any star is in the eastern half of the sky, it’s climbing upward. Like the sun, the stars rise in the east and travel westward across the sky. As the New Year rings in, Sirius is at its highest.īy midnight, by the way, we mean the middle of the night, that is, midway between sunset and sunrise. Astronomers call this a midnight culmination of Sirius. So Sirius is highest in the sky at midnight every New Year’s. See how it matches the chart above, with the 3 stars of Orion’s Belt pointing to Sirius? Sirius is up late for the party This photo comes from EarthSky Facebook friend Susan Jensen in Odessa, Washington. Look for the prominent Belt stars of the constellation Orion. If you’re scanning the dark sky and aren’t sure which point of light is Sirius, here’s a sure-fire way to know. The only points of light that can shine brighter than Sirius are some of the planets. How can you find Sirius? Well, for starters, it’s the brightest star in Earth’s night sky. Thank you, Nikunj! How to find the star Sirius Note the brightest star at the bottom, Sirius. | Nikunj Rawal in Gir National Park, India, captured this photo of Orion on November 21, 2020. Order yours before they’re gone! View at EarthSky Community Photos. It’ll ring in 2022 by reaching its highest point in the sky around the stroke of midnight. Sirius might also be called the New Year’s star. It has the nickname the Dog Star, because it’s part of the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. Want to entertain your friends on New Year’s Eve? Give them a quick tour of the heavens, and show them Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. And the 3 prominent Belt stars in the easy-to-see constellation Orion the Hunter point to it. You can always recognize the star Sirius.
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