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The Great Winter Triangle Inside The Great Winter Hexagon
Have you ever wondered why the stars of winter are always the brightest of any season of the year? People up north who don't have the Bonaire Sky Park jokingly tell people that winter stars are brighter than any other season so you don't have to spend so much time outside in the cold trying to find them. And while that's not true, nevertheless it is comforting to know that to see winter's finest stars all you have to do is pop your head outside for a couple of minutes any clear night and bingo! In early evening you'll see a sky brimming with bright stars.
Now when I was a kid I always heard about the great Summer Triangle and the great Winter Triangle and most older star charts identify both. But recently more modern star charts identify yet another geometric figure in winter skies, that of a great Winter Hexagon. On any clear night this month between the hours of 8 and 10 look from overhead toward the south and you'll see a bevy of absolutely brilliant stars.
Let's start with the easiest, the only 3 stars evenly spaced in a row which mark the belt of Orion the Hunter. Now if we take an imaginary arrow and shoot it through the belt down to the left we will land smack dab on the brightest star of any season, the brightest star visible to the naked eye, Sirius, the eye of the Great Dog. This is the brightest star of both the Winter Triangle and the Winter Hexagon. From there we'll draw a line east , to Procyon, the brightest star in the Little Dog, and then back to Orion and the reddish star which marks his shoulder, the star called Betelgeuse. Then back to Sirius. There's our winter triangle. Sirius to Procyon, Procyon to Betelgeuse, and Betelgeuse back to Sirius.
Now, fortunately, Sirius and Procyon are also 2 stars of the Winter Hexagon. To find the 3rd star we draw a line from Sirius to the brightest star below Orion's Belt, Orion's bright knee star, Rigel. From Rigel we draw a line to the red eye of Taurus, Aldebaran, and then we head for the next closest bright star, Capella in Auriga the Charioteer. Then on to the brightest star between Capella and Procyon which is the bright star Pollux of Gemini, the Twins. Then to complete the 6 stars of the Hexagon over to Procyon. Simple isn't it? Sirius, Procyon and Betelgeuse make the great Winter Triangle; Sirius, Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Pollux and Procyon, the great Winter Hexagon. Two wonderfully bright pieces of geometry in winter skies and you never get chilled in the Sky Park.
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