Continuing around the Winter Circle

Continuing with our tour of the Winter Circle or Hexagon we go from the "V" shaped cluster of the Hyades and bright Aldebaran further up to the circle, or in this case the five-sided, constellation Auriga (or-EYE-ga), the Charioteer.

Unfortunately, this is one of those constellations that doesn't look anything like its namesake. Although, you could say it does look kind of like a chariot wheel.

The brightest star in Auriga is Capella, the sixth brightest star in the heavens, and the fourth brightest star in the northern hemisphere. It is located almost directly overhead these winter evenings if you are looking south.

Or, if you are having a hard time finding it, look directly above Orion. Or above and slightly left of Aldebaran in Taurus, about 30 degrees. That is the width of three clenched fists held at arm's length.

The name Capella means "She Goat" and located just below Capella is a small triangle of stars called "The Kids" in reference to baby goats. Capella is 70 light years away but the baby goats are 370, 1,200, and 3,000 light years away respectively.

The area of Auriga is a nice place for some faint fuzzy hunting as the northern part of the Milky Way Galaxy goes right through it. Three very nice Messier star clusters, M36, M37, and M38 are right in the middle of Auriga.

To find M37 look about half way along and just slightly left of a line drawn from the southern most star of Auriga, Elnath, up and left to the next star, Theta Auriga. The other two objects are along a line extending slightly right from M37 into the body of the constellation.

Elnath is also the star marking the tip of the northern horn of Taurus and is shared by both constellations. Spend some time with your binoculars going from Auriga up and right into Perseus or down and left near Orion and below the feet of Gemini, the Twins.

SKY WATCH:

Full moon on Jan. 30, so any early evening star gazing will be at a minimum. Mars at opposition, opposite the sun in the night sky, on Jan. 27. The red glow of the planet can be seen about six degrees (a little more than the width of a binocular field of view) left and slightly above our old friend M44 the Beehive star cluster. Look anytime after 8:30 to 9 p.m. MST. On Jan. 29 and 30 a full moon will join the party but its overwhelming glow will obliterate almost everything else. Feb. 2 is Groundhog Day.

In the old calendar it is celebrated as Candelmas. Candelmas is a cross-quarter day or one of the four days of the year located almost halfway between a solstice and an equinox. The actual halfway day is a couple of days after Candlemas.

NEXT TIME:

We will going to visit the twins, and more astronomical blathering.