January 23, 2017
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us, and yet here you are — a collection of atoms that somehow learned to think, to...
Winter Hexagon over Manla Reservoir
Birthday · January 23, 2017
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APOD published January 23, 2017. Credit: Jeff Dai (TWAN). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
If you can find Orion, you might be able to find the Winter Hexagon. The Winter Hexagon involves some of the brightest stars visible, together forming a large and easily found pattern in the winter sky of Earth's northern hemisphere. The stars involved can usually be identified even in the bright night skies of a big city, although here they appeared recently in dark skies above the Manla Reservoir in Tibet, China. The six stars that compose the Winter Hexagon are Aldebaran, Capella, Castor (and Pollux), Procyon, Rigel, and Sirius. Here, the band of our Milky Way Galaxy runs through the center of the Winter Hexagon, while the Pleiades open star cluster is visible just above. The Winter Hexagon asterism engulfs several constellations including much of the iconic steppingstone Orion. Follow APOD on: Facebook, Google Plus, or Twitter
Image credit: Jeff Dai (TWAN)