Even if it sounds like the cozy, cold weather version of the Battle of the Network Stars, the “Winter Circle of Stars” is actually something that takes place in the night sky, rather than on the fields of Pepperdine University in California. (OK, it’s technically just called the ‘Winter Circle’ – or ‘Winter Hexagon’ – but it’s made of stars.) Here’s what the Winter Circle is and how to see it the next few nights.
What is the Winter Circle?
In fact, it is a collection of the brightest stars that can be seen in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter (hence the summer in the Southern Hemisphere). According to EarthSky, the Winter Circle is not a constellation, but rather a “asterism, ”Or“ prominent group of stars forming a pattern so striking that it has a separate name. ”
As you may have guessed by the other name – the Winter Hexagon – the Winter Circle is not a perfect circle. So why the name? “From our Northern Hemisphere, the same bright stars can be seen every late summer and early fall before dawn,” the team at EarthSky explained. And they can be seen in the evening every winter. Hence the name Winter Circle. ”
How to find the Winter Circle
It turns out that tonight – as well as Monday and Tuesday night – the rising moon will be within the Winter Circle, which detects it more easily than usual. It becomes visible at night and usually lasts until well after midnight.
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But if it’s too cold to go out for the next three nights, you can still see the Winter Circle for the rest of the season – you just have to find it with constellations instead of the moon. Here’s how to do it, by EarthSky:
To find the Winter Hexagon or Circle, you must first find the easily recognizable constellation of Orion. The three belt stars give it away. Then look at the bright bluish star at the bottom right. This star is Rigel, the southwest corner of the Winter Circle and the first of six stars in the Hexagon. Rigel is the brightest star in Orion and the seventh brightest star in the night sky.
Draw a line through Orion’s Belt stars to find Aldebaran, the red eye in the constellation Taurus the Bull. Aldebaran is the second star in the hexagon and the brightest star in the Bull. Aldebaran is the fourteenth brightest star in the sky.
Keep turning left to find the next bright star, Capella. Capella, the third star on our journey and the northernmost point of the Winter Hexagon, is the sixth brightest star in the sky.
Either way, don’t forget to bundle up!