When planning to look at the stars during the year, different celestial objects stand out depending on the season. Here’s a simple guide to exciting things to spot in each season:
Messier 3 (M3): This is a group of old stars called a globular cluster. You can see it best from April to June. It has around 500,000 stars and shines really bright—more than 400,000 times brighter than our Sun!
Virgo Cluster: In May, you can see a bunch of galaxies here. It’s about 50 million light-years away and has more than 1,800 galaxies in it!
Summer Triangle: This is made up of three bright stars: Vega, Deneb, and Altair. You can see them from June to August. Vega is especially bright, ranking as the fifth brightest star.
Saturn: Saturn shows off its beautiful rings and can be seen clearly in July. It’s really far from us—about 1.2 billion kilometers away—and shines with a brightness of around +0.5.
Andromeda Galaxy (M31): This is the closest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way. You can see it best in October. It’s 2.537 million light-years away, making it the farthest object you can see with just your eyes.
Orion Nebula (M42): This is like a star nursery, shining brightly in winter. It’s about 1,344 light-years from Earth. You can even spot it with binoculars!
Pleiades (M45): Also known as the Seven Sisters, this cluster in Taurus is best seen in December. It has over 1,000 stars, but you can easily see six bright ones with your eyes.
Jupiter: This big gas planet shines brightly during the winter months. It’s about 778 million kilometers from the Sun and can be super bright, with a magnitude of around -2.94.
If you plan your stargazing to catch these objects at the right time, you’ll have an amazing experience looking at the night sky!
When planning to look at the stars during the year, different celestial objects stand out depending on the season. Here’s a simple guide to exciting things to spot in each season:
Messier 3 (M3): This is a group of old stars called a globular cluster. You can see it best from April to June. It has around 500,000 stars and shines really bright—more than 400,000 times brighter than our Sun!
Virgo Cluster: In May, you can see a bunch of galaxies here. It’s about 50 million light-years away and has more than 1,800 galaxies in it!
Summer Triangle: This is made up of three bright stars: Vega, Deneb, and Altair. You can see them from June to August. Vega is especially bright, ranking as the fifth brightest star.
Saturn: Saturn shows off its beautiful rings and can be seen clearly in July. It’s really far from us—about 1.2 billion kilometers away—and shines with a brightness of around +0.5.
Andromeda Galaxy (M31): This is the closest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way. You can see it best in October. It’s 2.537 million light-years away, making it the farthest object you can see with just your eyes.
Orion Nebula (M42): This is like a star nursery, shining brightly in winter. It’s about 1,344 light-years from Earth. You can even spot it with binoculars!
Pleiades (M45): Also known as the Seven Sisters, this cluster in Taurus is best seen in December. It has over 1,000 stars, but you can easily see six bright ones with your eyes.
Jupiter: This big gas planet shines brightly during the winter months. It’s about 778 million kilometers from the Sun and can be super bright, with a magnitude of around -2.94.
If you plan your stargazing to catch these objects at the right time, you’ll have an amazing experience looking at the night sky!