Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2002 November 6
See Explanation.  Rolling mouse over image will bring up 
an annotated version.  No higher 
resolution version is available today.

The Winter Hexagon
Credit & Copyright: Jerry Lodriguss

Explanation: Some of the brightest stars form a large and easily found pattern in the winter sky of Earth's northern hemisphere. Dubbed the Winter Hexagon, the stars involved can usually be identified even in the bright night skies of a big city. The six stars that compose the Winter Hexagon are Aldebaren, Capella, Castor, Procyon, Rigel, and Sirius. Rolling your cursor over the above image will identify them. The Winter Hexagon asterism engulfs several constellations including Orion and Canis Major.

Tomorrow's picture: perspective


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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
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