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The #WinterCircle (or #WinterHexagon is a giant asterism – an unofficial group of stars – made up of 6 of the sky’s brightest (and a bonus) in 6 constellations. It’s hard to describe how big it is without talking about degrees of arc and fists at arm’s length, but go look! It’s huge!

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Every year around this time, our night skies turn toward a bunch of seriously bright stars. When they come back, it’s like visiting with long lost friends. Most are pretty close, plus, there’s a secret that makes me love them more.

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To find it, head out tonight and look for the constellation #Orion, the hunter, which is entirely within the Circle. We’ll use his belt to find out way around to the rest of the stars. By mid-evening, the whole Circle should be high enough to see all its stars.

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First, follow the line of O’s belt stars down toward the ground. You’ll see the star #Sirius in Canis Major, the big dog. It’s the brightest star in the entire night sky. It’s… um… Siriusly bright. Spend a minute with it and really get a feel for that bright light.

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It’s only about 8 ½ light years (LY) away; right next door as these things go. So, if you have a third-grader handy, you can tell her that its light left for her eye right around when she was born. What you see there is actually a pair. There’s a white dwarf hiding in the main star’s glare.

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Now, turn to the left (Fashion!). The next bright one is Procyon, in Canis Minor (the little dog), about 11 LY away; welcome to middle school!

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Continuing around, up next is Pollux, in Gemini. Pollux is a giant about 34 LY away. So, its light left for us around when people who are settling into their careers or maybe having kids were born. I like to add in 2nd mag Castor, the other twin, when I think about these stars.

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High overhead is the gorgeous yellow #Capella; the little goat. It’s the brightest star in #auriga the charioteer.

I’m not kidding. I’m color blind and I still can’t get enough of the color of this star. The dot in the night you see is four stars orbiting each other in two pairs, kinda like the teacups ride at the amusement park. Oy... dizzy...

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Capella’s great to keep on an eye on night after night, month after month. Watch it cross the sky. It’ll be with us way into the spring so get to know it.

We’re about 45 LY into the night, and edging toward middle age now. If you’re around the same age as me, this is your star.

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Over the top, and over to #Aldebaran the bright red eye of #Taurus the bull. It’s around 65 LY away. Its light left around the lifetime of a retiree ago. If you look close, you’ll see it’s at the top of a V-shaped group of stars.

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Suddenly, we’re back to #Orion. See that bright, wintry blue-white one? That’s #Rigel, at his foot. It’s very, very bright, but unlike how close the others are, it’s around 800 light years away!

Almost a #Yoda life!

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Rigel’s more than 10 times farther than Aldebaran; 100 times farther than Sirius, but it’s still crazy bright. Imagine what kind of mishegas must be happening there for it to be so bright from so far away.

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Every year, these stars come back and we can use them to count off the years, but also count off moments in our lives.

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Plus, I love the way their names sound if you run them backward starting at Capella.

Capella, Castor, Pollux, Procyon, Sirius, Rigel, Aldebaran. Say them out loud. You’ll see.

Thanks for reading and sharing. I hope you’ll head out and take a look soon. Be safe out there, and #LookUp!