AS NOVEMBER slides into December, and we all start to drown in the festive madness of mince pies, late night shopping and gift-buying, an old, familiar friend makes a very welcome and comforting return to the night sky.
Look to the east after 9pm on any clear night next week and you'll see the constellation of Orion, standing proudly there. Orion is one of the most famous constellations, and the most easily-recognisable too thanks to the diagonal line of three sapphire-blue stars at its centre. This is the famous Orion's Belt, and is impossible to miss on these frosty nights. We'll look at Orion more closely later in the year.
If you're an early riser, you can enjoy Venus blazing in the east before dawn. And look out for a beautiful crescent Moon shining to its upper right on November 31 and December 1.
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