With spring now upon us, nature is joyfully coming out of hibernation. Warmer weather settles in as animals such as the bear awaken from their winter slumber. Just like its shaggy hair cousin, the great celestial bear is up and about in northern skies. Even though it is circumpolar meaning it never sets, the Big Dipper in nicely overhead all night long.

Many of our nightly constellations are bright enough to be located from semi-urban areas without a problem. On the other hand, practice does make perfect when trying to spot dimmer groups such as Cancer the Crab, the Little Dipper along with other fainter shapes. However, when it comes to Canis Major – one of Orion’s hunting dogs, there is no denying as to its location in the sky.

Happy New Year everyone. I hope there were Astro presents under the Christmas tree with your name on them. If so and for those of you that already have a telescope or even binoculars, January night skies await. Stepping outdoors on the next clear moonless night, your eyes immediately pick up the brilliant suns of Auriga, Gemini, Orion, and Taurus. Eighteen of the brightest stars occupy these constellations and give the wintry sky a magical appearance.

Whenever the name Andromeda arises in conversation or in print, we immediately visualize a majestic galaxy. The Andromeda Galaxy, aka M31, is located a mere 2.9 million light-years - down the cosmic highway. This island of an estimated 400 billion stars can even be spotted naked eye from dark locations. M31 is flanked by two smaller galaxies known as M32 and M110. Mythology depicts Andromeda as the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia and was sacrificed to the sea monster Cetus, but Perseus saved the day.