Bob Drieslein

As turkey hunting takes center stage among Outdoor News readers in coming weeks, there are several interesting things to see in the early morning sky.
When the birds aren’t gobbling, or haven’t started yet, here are some celestial features you might want to view during the last two weeks of April 2024.

Located just below Orion’s belt in the familiar constellation named by the ancient Greeks is a region of dust and gas where stars are forming. It falls within a grouping of stars often referred to as the “sword” of Orion.
NASA tells us this feature, known as the Orion Nebula, is 1,500 light-years away but is still the closest, large star-forming region to Earth.

One of the best-known and easiest-to-find constellations is Leo, which is Latin for lion. This is the animal the ancient Greeks saw when they viewed this group of 13 or so stars in our northern sky.

For those brave souls willing to venture out on clear, cold winter nights, there are some great star-gazing opportunities.
Some of my favorites, maybe because they’re easy to find, are the constellation Orion and the stars and constellations that surround it.

One of the best-known constellations in our northern sky is Cassiopeia, named after a queen of Ethiopia in Greek mythology. Although it contains no stars brighter than second magnitude, Cassiopeia’s distinctive shape makes it quite easy to find.

NASA tells us that Mercury is 39 million miles from the Sun compared to Earth’s 93 million miles and is able to complete its smaller orbit in only 88 days.

Are you awed and bewildered by what you are seeing in the dark sky on your way to a turkey or deer stand, or a favorite fishing spot? Aside from reading my bi-monthly “Outdoors After Dark” column in Outdoor News, here’s another suggestion that may help you sort things out. Join an astronomy club.

In a previous article, we talked about the “Summer Triangle,” an asterism formed by the stars Vega, Deneb and Altair. Now, nearly six months later, a similar feature comes into view in a different part of our night sky.
The “Winter Triangle” is also comprised of three bright stars: Sirius, Procyon and Betelgeuse. This asterism is relatively easy to find using the constellation Orion as a guide.