Our solar system resides inside one of the Milky Way Galaxy's shorter spiral arms. It's called the Orion Arm because the stars of Orion are among its brightest members. The arm wraps only about a quarter of the way around the galaxy.
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).
January 21: Orion Arm
January 22: Hunter and Hunted
Orion and Scorpius are on opposite sides of the sky, yet they share a common mythology. They're separated because one was always trying to kill the other. Orion is in the east and southeast at nightfall, while Scorpius is climbing into the dawn sky.
January 23: Moon and Antares
Antares, the bright orange star at the heart of the scorpion, stands low in the south-southeast at dawn. Tomorrow, it will be close to the lower left of the crescent Moon.
January 24: Venus and Saturn II
Two of the eight planets of the solar system highlight the western evening sky. Venus is the brilliant Evening Star. Saturn is directly below it. It looks like a fairly bright star, although not nearly as bright as Venus.
January 25: Mars and Pollux
There's a double burst of color in the sky right now. The planet Mars and the star Pollux stand side by side, in the east at nightfall and high in the sky later on. Mars is the brighter of the two, with Pollux to its left. Both of them shine bright orange.
January 26: NGC 1502
For the casual skywatcher, Camelopardalis, the giraffe, is a dud. You need dark skies to see any of its stars. Binoculars, however, reveal some nice sights. One example is the star cluster NGC 1502, which stands high above Polaris, the North Star, about 8 p.m.
January 27: Longer Days
The days are getting longer. Those who live in Seattle, for example, will see almost an hour of daylight more today than on the winter solstice, in December. The difference is smaller at more southerly latitudes; from Dallas, it's about a half-hour.