Winter Show in the Night Skies

Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer and planetarium programs director of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, said there's plenty for amateur star watchers to appreciate.

Although Jupiter rules the summer sky, it begins to fade around late September. By November, the planet Mars makes its way into the evening sky, rising in the east just after sunset, Pitts said. Come December, Mars is at its closest position to Earth, appearing as a rosy, non-twinkling star.

Early risers will be greatly rewarded by the jewels of the morning sky. As November rolls in, Venus, Saturn and Mercury show up about 45 minutes before sunrise.

"The morning sky is a great time to observe because the overnight temperature change typically has removed a lot of humidity and haze," Pitts said.

The fall and winter sky is filled with starry constellations. Cygnus the swan, as it is known in summer and fall, morphs into the Northern Cross on the northwest horizon in December. Cygnus is the main constellation of summer, Pegasus owns the fall, Orion the winter and Leo is king of the spring sky, Pitts said.

Perennial favorite the Big Dipper hangs in the northern horizon in October and by December appears to stand on the tip of its handle.

Of the dozen or so annual meteor showers, the Geminids is one of the most spectacular. It will take place in the wee hours of December 14.

"The Geminids is really a hot meteor shower," Pitts said. The meteors fall at medium speed, so they're easy to locate, he added.

The Geminids can be seen from anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, though you'll want to get away from city lights if possible. In truly dark skies, you may be able to see 60 to 120 meteors per hour.

Meteor showers come from comets, concoctions of carbon dioxide, rocks and dirt. A comet eventually warms up in its orbit around the sun and then discards its "dust bunnies," as Pitts called them. Earth cuts through that path and, as the comet dust falls into the heavier atmosphere nearer Earth, the meteors begin to glow.