Touring the winter skies

Continuing with our tour of the constellations of winter, we come to a constellation with a dual personality. That is Auriga (pronounced oh-RYE-guh), The Charioteer.

Auriga can be found now in the northeast in the early evening (about 7 p.m. local time) First locate our friend Taurus, the Bull, and move to its left (as you are looking at it). In fact, Auriga and Taurus, like Pegasus and Andromeda, share a star. Follow the northern horn of the bull to its end to find an almost second magnitude star called Elnath. It is the on the southeastern corner of Auriga. The stars of the constellation itself form a large, irregular hexagon.

The Babylonians, the Chinese, the Greeks and the Arabs, all assign this particular star grouping the identity of a chariot or a chariot driver. However, somewhere along the line Auriga, since it is associated with Taurus, became known as a bull driver or bull herder to some civilizations, hence the dual identity.

The constellation is home to three Messier (the comet hunter) objects and a very bright, almost dazzling, star, Capella (kuh-PELL-ah). The star is in the top corner of the hexagon and in the early evening just after rising it will seem to "sparkle" with different colors. Capella's name comes from the Latin term for "she goat" so it is known as the "Goat Star." It forms part of an asterism of the mother goat and three small kids. If you look at Capella through binoculars you will see the three other smaller stars, making up the baby goats slightly below and to its right (as you are looking at it).

The three Messier objects have their home in Auriga. M36, M37, and M38 are all open star clusters and can be viewed in binoculars although a telescope would be nice.

M36 is a faint cluster that can be found by drawing a line between Elnath and the other bottom star of the constellation and going about halfway along that line then about a degree (two full Moon widths) up. M38 can be found a little above M36 and in the same field of view. If you have a good, dark sky, it might be possible to see some of the nebulous background of the northern end of the Milky Way. While you are in the area, look around for other faint star clusters and double stars. The third Messier object, M37, is along the same line drawn for the first two but is about the same distance below the line. If you find M36, then shift your view down a little you will find M37.

Don't look for Auriga tonight as the just-past-full Moon will be rising just after Auriga does. Wait a couple of days, then the Moon won't be up so early.

SKY WATCH: Look for a bright Saturn rising just below the Moon on Saturday, Dec. 9. Look at about 10:30 p.m. local time. Saturn will be about five degrees (about the width of a closed fist held at arms length) above Regulus in Leo. For the early risers in the bunch, December 10th will be good time to look for Jupiter, Mars and Mercury in a group just above the eastern horizon. Mars will be to Jupiter's right and Mercury will be above. The bright star Graffias in Scorpius will be above the two planets trying to look like one of them. Look no later than a half hour before sunrise. Binoculars will be essential.

Next time, left overs.