The first hints of the changing of the seasons can now be seen in the predawn and dawn sky: Orion the Hunter and Sirius the Dog Star. The very noticeable constellation Orion the Hunter rises before dawn at this time of year, and Sirius follows Orion into the sky at or close to dawn. Orion will become visible in the evening by winter, but presently the Hunter lords over the southeastern sky at dawn’s first light.
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Orion was low in the west after sunset last spring, and, in early summer, this constellation was behind the sun as seen from Earth. Orion only returned to visibility in Earth’s sky about a month ago. (See our July 30 sky chart.) When a constellation becomes visible again, after being behind the sun, it always appears in the east before sunrise. Because – as Earth orbits the sun – all the stars rise two hours earlier with each passing month, Orion is now higher at dawn than a month ago.
As seen from the northern hemisphere, Orion precedes Sirius the Dog Star into the sky. After Orion first appears at morning dawn, you can count on Sirius to appear in the morning sky a few weeks later. You should be able to see Sirius at or before dawn right now – unless you live at far northern latitudes. But even there, it won’t be much longer!
Starting now, look for Orion the Hunter and Sirius the Dog in the early morning sky!
So you mean i have to wake up early to see the hunter.
Yes, you will have to get up in the early dawn hours to see it, and it’s beautiful !!!!!! Well worth crawling out from under you covers to view….
I saw it. It was fantastic! I now understand why this contellation and the star Sirius was so important to them. Thanks for this website and the information contained in it. I am truly a student of the stars and contellations.
Or, don’t get up early, wait a few months and see it all night.
For those of us in light-polluted skies –I guess most humans suffer from that– Orion and its surrounding constellations –Taurus, Auriga, Canis Major /Minor and Gemini– is BY FAR the best area of the sky to watch. I’ve seen all major constellations already and NOTHING compares to even Orion alone, both in impressiveness and beauty. The next best to watch two constellations/sky areas following the Orion/Taurus sky area IMO would be Scorpius/Sagittarius and Cygnus/Lyra/Aquila, followed by The Big and Little Dippers. The Centaurus/Southern Cross area is nice too, but not as impressive and not everybody can see it.
This time of year, right before sunrise THE BEST area in the sky for stargazing –in sky polluted northern latitude areas, because in clear skies Scorpius/Sagittarius and Cygnus/Cassiopeia are by far the best to watch, but most of us can’t see the Milky Way and its deep-sky wonders, due to light pollution — is visible, so enjoy it as long as it lasts!