Explanation:
What's in the sky tonight?
When strolling outside just after sunset, even if just going out to your car, a casual glance upwards can reveal a beautiful
night sky
also seen by many people across the Earth.
To see
your local version of the
above image, start by facing south, and then tilt your head back.
Visible nearly above you, during springtime at sunset in much of the northern hemisphere, will be the
Big Dipper, part of the constellation of the
Big Bear.
The cup end of the
Big Dipper will point to the North Star
Polaris, the star around which the
whole sky would seem to spin,
if you could watch for hours.
Polaris
is at the tip of the
Little Dipper, otherwise known as the constellation of the
Little Bear.
Depending on the time of night, other visible
constellations would include Bootes, Leo, Gemini, and Auriga.
The above fisheye image was taken from
Germany last week.
Visible around the entire image edge is the courtyard of
Hirsau Abbey, once a Benedictine Monastery founded in the year 830.
Moving your cursor over the image will bring up an
annotated version of the above image, including the location of the planet Saturn.
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