If you’re up early, and have an unobstructed view to the east, be sure to look in that direction in the hour before dawn.

If you do, you’ll find a familiar figure, which is always in this part of the sky on late summer mornings. It’s the beautiful constellation Orion the Hunter – recently behind the sun as seen from our earthly vantage point – now ascending once more in the east before sunrise.

EarthSky’s meteor shower guide for 2012

The Hunter appears each winter as a mighty constellation arcing across the south during the evening hours.

But, at the crack of dawn in late summer, you can spot Orion in the east. Thus Orion has been called the ghost of the shimmering summer dawn. The Hunter rises on his side, with his three Belt stars – Mintaka, Alnitak and Alnilam – pointing straight up.

Also, notice the star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus the Bull. Aldebaran is the brightest star in Taurus the Bull. It’s said to be the Bull’s fiery red eye. See the V-shaped pattern of stars around Aldebaran? This pattern represents the Bull’s face. In skylore, Orion is said to be holding up a great shield . . . fending off the charging Bull. Can you imagine this by looking at our chart? It’s easy to imagine when you look at the real sky on a late summer morning.

Next year - in late July 2013 - Orion and Taurus will return to the morning sky but no planets will be in front of the constellation Taurus the Bull

The return of Orion and Taurus to the predawn sky happens in late July or early August every year. However, the positions of the planets are special to this year. In late July and early August 2012, the two brightest planets – Venus and Jupiter, respectively – shine right in front of Taurus the Bull. Jupiter resides near the star Aldebaran, temporarily giving the Bull another eye. Venus, the sky’s brightest planet, shines close to Zeta Tauri, the rather faint third-magnitude star that marks the tip of the Bull’s southern horn. At this time next year, Orion and Taurus will again return to the predawn sky, though no planets will highlight Taurus the Bull.

In the wee hours before daybreak, be on the watch out for Orion the Hunter: Ghost of the summer dawn.