Have you ever noticed that the night sky in winter is particularly beautiful, with many stars, like diamonds set on the black sky? Do you know the names of those stars? Do you know what stories they all have? Today I will introduce you to some of the brightest and coolest stars and constellations in the winter starry sky.
We're going to find the best sign to recognize, and it's Orion. It is a personal-like constellation with four corners and a belt. There are three very bright and neat stars on the belt, which we call Fulu Shou. When Chinese New Year is celebrated, these three stars will appear due south, so we say "three-star due south, family New Year's greeting". Orion also has two particularly bright stars, one red called Betelgeuse, which is the left shoulder of Orion. The other is blue-white and called Betelgeuse, which is the right foot of Orion. These two stars have a very handsome name in the West, called Bettier Gus and Rigel. They represent a heroic and conceited hunter, Orion, and Artemis, the goddess he fell in love with, respectively. Unfortunately, their love did not bear fruit, and Orion was mistakenly killed by Artemis. Later Artemis turned him into a constellation and remained in the sky forever.
If we find Orion, we can find other constellations. Look southeast along Fulushou and you'll see a very, very bright star, the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. It is part of the constellation Canis Major, like a large dog hunting with the hunter Orion. Sirius was considered a bad omen in ancient China, because every time it appeared in the sky, it meant that barbarians from the north were coming to invade the Central Plains. But I think Sirius is actually very beautiful and cool, it is a blue-white giant, only 8.6 light-years away, and one of our closest neighbors. Nor is it alone in its glow, it also has a small companion called Sirius B, which is a white dwarf. It's a pity that we can't see it with the naked eye.
Look northeast along Betelgeuse and Betelgeuse, and you'll see two bright stars that are part of Gemini, as if two people were holding hands. These two bright stars are called North River II and North River III, also known as Castor and Pollux. They represent two twin brothers in Greek mythology, respectively, the sons of Zeus and Leda, and brothers of Helen and Clytagnestra. Beihe II is not actually a person, and it can be seen in the telescope that it is actually composed of four stars. The North River Three has only one star.
Looking northwest along Fulucus, the first bright star encountered in the opposite direction to Sirius is Aldebaran in Taurus. Aldebaran is easy to find because it is bright and glowing red. Aldebaran is not a person, and it can be seen in the telescope that it is actually made up of two stars. There are also two very beautiful and magical places in Taurus, one is called the Pleiades, also called the Seven Sisters or Pleiades, known as the Pleiades or Pleiades in ancient China, and the Daughters of Plaiades or Parias in Greek mythology. It is made up of seven bright stars, and there are actually hundreds of stars that belong to this open cluster. The other, called the Hyades Cluster, is also beautiful, with dozens of stars visible in the telescope, and there are actually thousands of stars that actually belong to this open cluster.
Do you like winter skies? If you have the opportunity, on a clear and cold night, look up at the sky, and you will find countless stars shimmering with different colors and brightness, telling you their unchanging stories for thousands of years in the dark.