Download a free trial copy of
Starry Night Backyard and explore the night sky yourself.
SPACE.com offers convenient online ordering 24 hours a day, every day.
“Starry Night is an excellent
aid for exploring the heavens...a superb, well documented program that
will transform you into an expert in no time.”
--ZDNet, 5 star rating
"There are few experiences as invigorating as being out in the countryside standing under a canopy of star on a still night. Starry Night conveys that feeling better than any other desktop planetarium"
--New York Times
StarGazer
Each week most PBS stations air Star
Gazer with Jack Horkheimer, the world's first and only weekly TV series
on naked-eye astronomy. The images on this page illustrate the show for
the week of Monday,
November 27, 2000.
The Surest Sign of Winter, and Why The Shortest Day of the Year Doesn't Feel Like The Shortest Day of the Year
Orion rises around 8 PM in December and stays up all night long. Look for the bright stars Betelgeuse (in the shoulder), Rigel (in the foot) and the 3 bright stars that make up Orion’s belt. That fuzzy patch beneath the belt is the Orion Nebula.
Early risers will see the sun rise later each day until January 5. The last star to disappear as the sun comes up will be Vega, the brightest star in the Summer Triangle.
Employees heading home from work will find the Sun (and nearby Venus) setting a little later each day as December rolls into January.
