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Though it sounds like the cozier, cold-weather version of the Battle of the Network Stars, the “Winter Circle of Stars” is actually something that takes place in the night sky, instead of on the fields of Pepperdine University in California. (OK, technically it’s just called the “Winter Circle”—or “Winter Hexagon”—but it’s made of stars.) Here’s what the Winter Circle is and how to see it over the next few nights.
What is the Winter Circle?
Basically, it’s a collection of the brightest stars on display during the winter in the Northern Hemisphere (so, the summer in the Southern Hemisphere). According to EarthSky, the Winter Circle isn’t a constellation, but rather an “asterism,” or “prominent group of stars that form a pattern so noticeable it has a separate name.”
Also, as you may have guessed by its other name—the Winter Hexagon—the Winter Circle isn’t a perfect circle. So why the name? “From our Northern Hemisphere locations, these same bright stars can be seen before dawn every late summer and early fall,” the team at EarthSky explains. “And they can be seen in the evening every winter. Hence the name Winter Circle.”
How to find the Winter Circle
As it turns out, tonight—as well as Monday and Tuesday night—the waxing gibbous moon will be inside the Winter Circle, making it easier to spot than usual. It becomes visible in the evening, and usually sticks around until well after midnight.
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But if it’s too cold to go out over the next three nights, you can still see the Winter Circle throughout the rest of the season—you’ll just have to find it using constellations instead of the moon. Here’s how to do that, per EarthSky:
To find the Winter Hexagon or Circle, first find the easily recognizable constellation of Orion. The three belt stars give it away. Then look at the bright bluish star at lower right. This star is Rigel, the southwest corner of the Winter Circle and the first of the six stars in the Hexagon. Rigel is the brightest star in Orion and the seventh brightest star in the night sky.
Draw a line through Orion’s Belt stars upward to find Aldebaran, the ruddy eye in the constellation Taurus the Bull. Aldebaran is the second star in the Hexagon and the brightest star in Taurus. Aldebaran is the fourteenth brightest star in the sky.
Continue upward in a counterclockwise direction to find the next bright star, Capella. Capella, the third star on our journey and the northernmost point of the Winter Hexagon, is the sixth brightest star in the heavens.
Either way, don’t forget to bundle up!
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