January will be a special month with the brightest stars and constellations in the sky clustered in the east during the early evening. Even a quick look on a cold night will be rewarding. Start by looking for the unmistakable three stars in an evenly spaced row that represents the belt of Orion (the Hunter). This brightest constellation in the sky really does resemble a human figure. His knees or feet are below or to the right of the belt with the bright blue-white star Rigel forming the foot on the right. His shoulders are above or to the left of the belt with the bright reddish star Betelgeuse forming the shoulder on the left. Hanging from his belt are a line of three dim stars that form his sword. The middle star of the sword is not a star but the Orion Nebula, a cloud of glowing gas. Look at it with binoculars. It will be fuzzy and not a starlike point of light.

Orion also can help you find other bright stars and constellations. The three belt stars point upward, first to the bright reddish star Aldebaran and then to the Pleiades (or Seven Sisters), an attractive open star cluster about the size of the end of a finger. Both are in the constellation Taurus (the Bull). Aldebaran represents the eye of the bull. Extending to the star’s right and then back above it are four stars that form the rest of a small “V” shaped pattern that represents the bull’s face. They are the brightest stars of another open star cluster called the Hyades. The Pleiades are a spot on the shoulder of Taurus, and in some stories, they represent the Seven Sisters being pursued by Orion and protected by Taurus. If you use binoculars, you will find that both clusters contain many more stars than you can see with the naked eye.

The three belt stars also point to the lower left to Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. It represents the jeweled collar (or nose) of Canis Major (the Great Dog). During January evenings, Sirius will sparkle like a diamond because it will be near the horizon and its light passes through more of our atmosphere. The rest of Canis Major resembles a stick figure of a dog standing on its hind legs with a front leg to the right of Sirius.

Now look to the left and upward from Sirius for bright Procyon in the small and dim constellation Canis Minor (the Little Dog). To the upper right of Procyon are the unmistakable bright twin stars Pollux and Castor (above) in Gemini (the Twins). The rest of the constellation are two dim, straggly lines of stars that extend toward Betelgeuse and represent the twin’s bodies. Finally, look to the upper right of the twin stars to find bright Capella in Auriga (the Charioteer), a five-stared oval. It often represents Erechtheus who was lame and invented the chariot, but Capella also represents a goat on his shoulder.

All five visible planets will also be in the sky during January. Saturn will be low in the southwest, but still unmistakable. It will set at about 8:30 early in the month and at about 6:30 in late January. Very bright Jupiter will be high in the sky and to the right of the bright stars near Orion. In the morning, brilliant Venus will be getting lower each day. It will be joined by Mercury that will reach its highest point on the 12th when it will be to the lower left of Venus. Mercury will then start moving back toward the Sun. On January 27, it will pass Mars that will be slowly climbing up from the Sun.