Orion’s Belt Asterism: The Girdle of the Celestial Hunter

  Researchers have discovered a young protoplanet called WISPIT 2b embedded in a ring-shaped gap in a disk encircling a young star. While theorists have thought that planets likely exist in these gaps (and possibly even create them), this is the first time that it has actually been observed. Researchers have directly detected – essentially photographed – a new planet called WISPIT 2b, labeled a protoplanet because it is an astronomical object that is accumulating material and growing into a fully-realized planet. However, even in its "proto" state, WISPIT 2b is a gas giant about 5 times as massive as Jupiter. This massive protoplanet is just about 5 million years old, or almost 1,000 times younger than the Earth, and about 437 light-years from Earth.  Being a giant and still-growing baby planet, WISPIT 2b is interesting to study on its own, but its location in this protoplanetary disk gap is even more fascinating. Protoplanetary disks are made of gas and dust that surround yo...

Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third known object from outside our solar system to be discovered passing through our celestial neighborhood. Astronomers have categorized this object as interstellar because of the hyperbolic shape of its orbital path. (It does not follow a closed orbital path about the Sun.) When the orbit of 3I/ATLAS is traced into the past, the comet clearly originates from outside our solar system. Comet 3I/ATLAS poses no threat to Earth and will remain far away. The closest it will approach our planet is about 1.8 astronomical units (about 170 million miles, or 270 million kilometers). 3I/ATLAS will reach its closest point to the Sun around Oct. 30, 2025, at a distance of about 1.4 au (130 million miles, or 210 million kilometers) — just inside the orbit of Mars. The interstellar comet’s size and physical properties are being investigated by astronomers around the world. 3I/ATLAS should remain visible to ground-based telescopes through September 2025, after which it will pas...

  Canis Major is a famous constellation because it is home to the brightest star of our night sky—Sirius. This constellation is also called the “Greater Dog” since it is bigger than Canis Minor, the “Lesser Dog.” Canis Major Constellation aka The Greater Dog Canis Major means “greater dog” in Latin. We can easily identify the Canis Major constellation because of the super-bright star Sirius. Its famous form has been recognized all over the world since ancient times. Claudius Ptolemy included it in the Almagest as one of his 48 constellations. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognizes Canis Major as one of the 88 modern constellations. It is enclosed in a quadrilateral or a four-sided polygon. With an area of 380 square degrees, it ranks as the 43rd largest constellation of today. Unlike other famous constellations, no meteor shower is related to Canis Major. In addition to Sirius, the Greater Dog has many other interesting stars like the red hypergiant VY Canis Majoris ...

Sirius, also known as Alpha Canis Majoris, is the brightest star in the constellation of Canis Major, located in the southern sky, and overall the brightest star in the night sky. It has an apparent magnitude of 1.46, making it twice as bright as Canopus, the second brightest star in Canis Major. Sirius is a binary star system. The primary star is Sirius A, a main-sequence star of spectral type A0 or A1, and the companion star is a faint white  dwarf star , designated Sirius B. It is of the spectral type DA2. Sirius B was actually the very first  white dwarf  to be discovered.  Despite the fact that Sirius appears brighter than   Canopus   in Canis Major, it has a significantly lower luminosity. It appears so bright because of its closeness to us. Sirius is known colloquially as the “Dog Star”, reflecting its prominence in its constellation  Canis Major , which means Greater Dog. The rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt and...

  Even without our telescopes and binoculars, we can still enjoy the spectacle of our night sky. One crowd favorite is the Orion’s Belt Asterism. It is by far one of the easiest to identify in the sky. There are many interesting facts about this asterism that goes beyond time and culture, so let us dive deep into it. The constellation of Orion is perhaps one of the most notable constellations that we can see in the night sky. We can easily see the celestial hunter because of the noticeable row of three stars in the center of this constellation. These three stars are called the Orion’s Belt asterism. By looking at the picture below, we can understand why it was given such a name. It is because it completes the bearing and clothing of the celestial hunter! When Can We See Orion’s Belt? We cannot see the asterism of Orion’s Belt all year round because it is a part of the seasonal constellation of  Orion the Hunter . We can see it during the winter months in the northern latitudes...