Six o’clock in the morning really isn’t all that early. Even if you’re not an early riser. You might want to consider doing something out of the ordinary one morning in the next couple of weeks: get up by 6 am and have a look at the sky.
The morning sky this time of year is just beautiful. And because we haven’t flipped out clocks back to standard time yet, the sky is dark and the stars are bright until even after 6 am.
The stars and constellations rise four minutes earlier each day compared to the day before. Because of this, the morning sky offers a sneak preview of this winter’s evening sky.
One reason you might take advantage of this week’s sneak peak, even if it means getting up and out in your backyard a bit earlier than you normally would, is that its warm now. If you wait until winter to see these sights, you’ll have to stand out in the snow and cold.
Another reason you might want to have a look is that now at dawn some of the northern hemisphere’s most impressive sights are arrayed high in the sky.
So, get up and outside to a dark place around 6 am. If you have a pair of binoculars, bring them with you and…
Stand in the place where you live, now face north…
Look to your right (to the east) to see the Big Dipper balancing on its handle. Let the top two stars in the Dipper’s bowl point you to the left to the North Star so that you’ve got your bearings.
Now face west…
High in the sky and to your right look for Cassiopeia — the giant W in the sky. Low on the horizon in front of you, if you’ve got a good view to the west, is the giant square of Pegasus balancing on one of its corners.
With your trusty binoculars, or even with your naked eyes if it is good and dark out, scan slowly the sky about halfway between Cassiopeia and the topmost star in Pegasus until you find the Andromeda Galaxy, looking like an oblong cotton ball in the dark sky. At a distance of 2.5 million light years, the Andromeda Galaxy is the most distant object you can see with your naked eye.
To the south, and low and to your left is Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Straight in front of you is mighty Orion, and above him is Taurus the Bull, his face looking like a V with bright red Aldebaran marking his right eye. Continuing along a line from Orion through Taurus you’ll spy the Pleiades, a tight knot of stars that looks like a tiny little dipper.
For a final treat with your binoculars, scan the sky around Orion’s sword looking for the famous Orion Nebula, a glowing cloud of gas and dust. Then aim your binoculars at the Pleiades and let your gaze drift along a ling back to Cassiopeia. All throughout this region, stretching along the Milky Way, you’ll spy stars and star clusters, probably more than you’ve ever seen before.
While you take this all in, in words offered by the band R.E.M: “You’re feet are going to be on the ground; your head is there to move you around.” And as you make your way back inside to take on your day, “Think about the place where you live and wonder why you haven’t before.”
This column originally appeared in the Grand Haven Tribune on 10 October 2008.
