In January the winter evening sky is on full display by 10 p.m. or so. Between 9 and 10, the prominent constellation Orion stands due south surrounded by an uneven ring of bright stars sometimes called the 'winter oval." Orion's Belt, three bright stars in a remarkably straight line, is a very helpful guide. So start with the belt, then it's easy to find the two bright stars to the north (above the belt), called Betelgeuse and Bellatrix, which are Orion's shoulders. Just to the south are his knees, Saiph and Rigel. To find the 'oval," start with Orion's Belt: follow the line of the belt stars roughly westward (to the right and up) to reach Aldebaran, the bright star in the constellation Taurus. (Don't be confused by bright Jupiter, these days much farther west in Pisces.)

Now we'll go counter-clockwise around the oval: Look northward (higher overhead) for the brilliant star Capella, then left (eastward) to two bright stars quite near to each other--the distance between them is roughly the same as the width of Orion's Belt. These are Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini.

Now southward find bright Procyon, the prominent star of Canis Minor and the dimmer of the two Dog Stars. To find the brighter Dog Star, use Orion's Belt again as a guide, this time going away from Aldebaran (roughly to the left) to find the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, in Canis Major. (If you had any trouble with Procyon, you can try again now by looking roughly halfway between Sirius and the twins of Gemini.) Now swing your view from Sirius rightwards to Rigel in Orion and on up to Aldebaran to complete the winter oval. Betelgeuse ends up in the midst of the oval, and the winter Milky Way roughly bisects the oval going southeast to northwest. In fact, on a moonless night from a dark location, you can find the winter Milky Way arching overhead from horizon to horizon.

From the University of Wisconsin's "Space Place"
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