Winter hexagon

[Martin Meredith]

Has anyone noticed the almost perfect hexagon with Betelgeuse at its centre, formed by Rigel, Sirius, Procyon, Jupiter, Elnath and Aldebaran? The faintest of these is Elnath at +1.7!

I went outside tonight and was stunned at the sight. I'm currently at 36deg N so the whole thing is centred at 47deg above the horizon, which probably helps. The colour contrasts are also really noticeable, again helped by Jupiter being thrown into the mix.

A new take on some old favourites thanks to Jupiter!

Martin

[entropia]

We are almost at the same latitude, mine is 38 and 47' N so we have similar skies

[Lorne]

Tonight (07/03/14) we have the Moon in the equation, VERY close to Aldebaran

[JimmyC]

Never have seen it that way! Interesting And to think I've missed this whilst looking at the Winter Triangle...

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

There is of course also a larger Winter Hexagon which does not need a planet, consisting of Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Pollux, Procyon, and Sirius. Pollux is the faintest one at 1.14