Stars Over the Coast astronomy column Nov. 28-Dec. 4: All hail the return of mighty Orion

on November 28, 2010 at 12:00 AM

PLANETS TO VIEW: Venus is magnificent in the east before dawn, shining brighter than magnitude minus 4.5 and well off the horizon. Saturn is a good ways above it with bright blue star Spica in between. Jupiter, meanwhile, starts the evening due south and sets about midnight. Mercury and Mars are lost to casual viewers for now.

THE MOON wanes from last quarter tonight to a thin morning crescent by the weekend. On Thursday morning, look for the moon to the right of Venus, with Spica forming a triangle and Saturn above all three. It's a sight worth getting up for.

THIS WEEK: Mighty Orion makes its re-entrance to prime time, rising about 9 p.m. and becoming easy to spot by 11 p.m. It is the only constellation with two zero-magnitude stars (Rigel and Betelgeuse) and contains five other strong second-magnitude stars, including Bellatrix and the three Belt stars.

Additionally, the naked eye in dark sky should be able to pick up the hazy Orion Nebula below the Belt stars. Orion will be your cool-weather companion almost to Easter. Because Orion lies along the celestial equator, it is known to every civilization on Earth.

DID YOU KNOW? Red giant Betelgeuse is so massive that it is wider across than the orbit of Mars around the sun.

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