Orion

Do you recognize this? Can you see the bright stars illuminating the popular constellation that we all have heard of? The belt will hopefully give it away. Yes, we are talking about The Hunter, Orion. This is perhaps the highlight of the winter constellations.

Now, by finding the belt, we can fairly easily assemble the rest of the mighty hunter, but the belt is actually extremely useful for some other stargazing opportunities. I will use the Wikipedia article's way of explaining the navigation points it brings:
"Orion is very useful as an aid to locating other stars. By extending the line of the Belt southeastward, Sirius (α CMa) can be found; northwestward, Aldebaran (α Tau). A line eastward across the two shoulders indicates the direction of Procyon (α CMi). A line from Rigel through Betelgeuse points to Castor and Pollux (α Gem and β Gem). Additionally, Rigel is part of the Winter Circle. Sirius and Procyon, which may be located from Orion by following imaginary lines (see map), also are points in both the Winter Triangle and the Circle".

 

Keep this info in mind, as these stars will be reappearing in future posts about other articles. Being able to find and identify stars will help you find said constellations, and it will just make you look rather intelligent.

It is important to note that once you find Orion's belt, his torso is due north of the belt, legs south, shield west, and club east. This also makes the constellation helpful for navigation. Just scan the sky, and Orion's belt will stand out. Become familiar with Orion, and the winter sky will begin to unlock itself.