Perseus the hero stands overhead by 9 or 10 p.m. Many of its stars are immersed in the glow of the Milky Way. As you look at Perseus, you see stars in three of the galaxy's spiral arms, named for the constellations Orion, Perseus, and Cygnus.
Weekly Stargazing Tips
Provided by StarDate.org. Unless otherwise specified, viewing times are local time regardless of time zone, and are good for the entire Lower 48 states (and, generally, for Alaska and Hawaii).
December 17: Perseus
December 18: The Charioteer
The constellation Auriga is low in the northeast at nightfall, and climbs high across the sky later on. It's marked by a pentagon of stars. It is easy to pick out thanks to the brightest member of that figure, Capella, one of the brighter stars in the night sky.
December 19: Capella
Capella is the brightest star of Auriga, the charioteer. Its name comes from a Latin phrase that means the she-goat. It's 43 light-years away. What looks like a single brilliant star is actually two sparklers, both of which are much bigger and brighter than the Sun.
December 20: Winter Solstice
Winter arrives in the northern hemisphere at 9:03 a.m. CST tomorrow. That is the moment of the December solstice, when the Sun stands farthest south for the year. Winter ends 89 days later, making it the shortest season of the year.
December 21: Southern Solstice
Today is the December solstice, which marks the start of winter in the northern hemisphere. It's the darkest time of the year, offering many hours of darkness for watching the stars.
December 22: Rigel
Rigel, the brightest star of Orion the hunter, is low in the east-southeast in early evening, to the right of Orion's Belt. It is more than 20 times as massive as the Sun, dozens of times larger, and roughly 100,000 times brighter.
December 23: Camelopardalis
If you'd like to know how dark your night sky is, then look high in the northeast after the Moon sets this evening for the stars of Camelopardalis, the giraffe. If you can see any of them, then your sky is pretty dark.