Many know Orion's Belt, a short, straight row of 3 stars. Orion's Belt is considered a celestial bridge between the sky's Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Cassiopeia and Perseus are neighbors in the fall sky. Use Cassiopeia's distinctive W or M shape to locate the dimmer Perseus on autumn and winter evenings.
Delta Cephei is an inconspicuous variable star in the northern constellation Cepheus the King. This important star helped establish the cosmic distance scale.
Equinox shadows are unique. On this day - and only this day - the tip of an upright stick's shadow follows a straight path, west to east, all day long.
Bruce McClure served as lead writer for EarthSky's popular Tonight pages from 2004 to 2021, when he opted for a much-deserved retirement. He's a sundial aficionado, whose love for the heavens has taken him to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and sailing in the North Atlantic, where he earned his celestial navigation certificate through the School of Ocean Sailing and Navigation. He also wrote and hosted public astronomy programs and planetarium programs in and around his home in upstate New York.