Vivinavi : World : () World

It is the coldest season of the year, but the air is dry and the sky is clearer, making the stars more beautiful.

Seven of the 16 first-magnitude stars visible from Japan are concentrated in this season, so there are many things to see.

Looking up at the southern sky, the first thing you will notice is the well-formed constellation of Orion. Orion contains two first-magnitude stars, Betelgeuse (shining red) and Rigel (shining white). This constellation is said to represent the giant hunter Orion in Greek mythology. In Japan, the constellation was called "Ko-sei" (the "Drum Star") because the stars are aligned in a way that resembles the shape of a Japanese musical instrument, the tsutsumi. The red Betelgeuse star was called the "Heike star" and the white Rigel star was called the "Genji star" because of the color of the stars.

Southeast of Orion, you can see Sirius in the constellation Canis Major, which is very bright. Sirius means "something that burns" and is the brightest fixed star in the entire sky. To the east of Orion is Procyon in the constellation Canis Major. The triangle formed by Betelgeuse, Sirius, and Procyon is called the "Great Triangle of Winter. The hexagon formed by Sirius, Procyon, Pollux in Gemini, Capella in Auriga, Aldebaran in Taurus, and Rigel in Orion is called the "Winter Diamond" or the "Great Winter Hexagon".

As you can see, the winter sky is full of bright stars, but there is much more to see.

Below the three stars of Orion the Hunter's belt are three smaller stars aligned vertically. In the center of these stars is a dim, bright cloud-like object. This is the Orion Nebula. The Pleiades star cluster is located in the shoulder region of the constellation Taurus, which is west of Orion. In Japan, it is called "Subaru" and has been familiarly known as "Subaru. You can see 6 ～ 7 stars with the naked eye.