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Pl. 08The Provence notebook

The sky

What you see above the plateau, why the sky here is so dark, and the names shepherds gave the stars.

  1. Pl. 08.1 · 3 min read

    The shepherd's stars

    The Way of Saint James, the Chariot of Souls, Jean de Milan, Maguelonne… the sky as told by the shepherd in Alphonse Daudet's "The Stars".

  2. Pl. 08.2 · 2 min read

    Why the Haute-Provence sky is so dark

    Altitude, dry air, little lighting: why astronomers chose Haute-Provence, and how a planet around another star was discovered there.

  3. Pl. 08.3 · 2 min read

    The year's shooting stars

    From the Quadrantids in January to the Geminids in December: the main meteor showers, their dates and how to watch them.

Pl. 08

Tonight's sky

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Disc lit
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Sunset
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Fully dark from
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Next new moon
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Planets tonight

    Positions worked out in your browser from the approximate orbital elements published by NASA's JPL, to within a few tenths of a degree.

    This month ·

    Worked out in your browser for the Sault plateau (44.09° N, 5.41° E), with no external service. Paris time.

    Pl. 08

    The sky, month by month

    What you can see from the plateau around 10 pm, with the naked eye, binoculars and a telescope. Planets change from year to year: they are computed live in the "Tonight" panel.

    1. 01 January

      Evening constellations
      Orion, Taurus, Gemini, Auriga, Canis Major
      With binoculars
      the Pleiades (M45), the Hyades around Aldebaran, the Orion Nebula (M42)
      Through a telescope
      the Orion Nebula and the Trapezium, the open cluster M35 in Gemini
      Shooting stars
      Quadrantids (3–4 January)
      The shepherd's sky
      The Three Kings (Orion's Belt) chase the Poussinière (the Pleiades), with Jean de Milan (Sirius) close behind. Read →

    2. 02 February

      Evening constellations
      Orion, Gemini, Canis Minor, Cancer, Auriga
      With binoculars
      the Beehive Cluster (M44) in Cancer, the clusters M36, M37 and M38 in Auriga
      Through a telescope
      the Orion Nebula, the Auriga clusters
      The shepherd's sky
      Jean de Milan, the "torch of the stars", shines low in the south early in the night. Read →

    3. 03 March

      Evening constellations
      Leo, Cancer, Ursa Major, Gemini
      With binoculars
      the Beehive Cluster (M44), Mizar and Alcor in Ursa Major
      Through a telescope
      the galaxies M81 and M82 in Ursa Major
      The shepherd's sky
      The Chariot of Souls (the Great Bear) climbs high above the north-eastern horizon. Read →

    4. 04 April

      Evening constellations
      Leo, Boötes, Virgo, Ursa Major
      With binoculars
      Mizar and Alcor, the globular cluster M3, near Arcturus
      Through a telescope
      the galaxies of Virgo and Coma Berenices
      Shooting stars
      Lyrids (around 22 April)

    5. 05 May

      Evening constellations
      Boötes, Corona Borealis, Hercules, Virgo
      With binoculars
      the Hercules Cluster (M13), Mizar and Alcor
      Through a telescope
      the Hercules Cluster (M13), the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

    6. 06 June

      Evening constellations
      Hercules, Lyra, Scorpius, Ophiuchus
      With binoculars
      M13 in Hercules, Antares and the cluster M4 in Scorpius
      Through a telescope
      the "double double" Epsilon Lyrae, the cluster M4
      The shepherd's sky
      The nights are short: full darkness only begins around midnight.

    7. 07 July

      Evening constellations
      Cygnus, Lyra, Aquila, Scorpius, Sagittarius
      With binoculars
      the Milky Way in Sagittarius, the Lagoon Nebula (M8), the cluster M22
      Through a telescope
      Albireo, an orange and blue double star, the Lagoon Nebula
      The shepherd's sky
      The Way of Saint James (the Milky Way) crosses the whole sky, from north-east to south. Read →

    8. 08 August

      Evening constellations
      Cygnus, Lyra, Aquila, Sagittarius, Cassiopeia
      With binoculars
      the Milky Way in Cygnus, the cluster M22
      Through a telescope
      the Dumbbell Nebula (M27), the Ring Nebula (M57), Albireo
      Shooting stars
      Perseids (12–13 August)

    9. 09 September

      Evening constellations
      the Summer Triangle, Pegasus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia
      With binoculars
      the Double Cluster in Perseus, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), late in the evening
      Through a telescope
      the globular cluster M15 in Pegasus, the Ring Nebula (M57)

    10. 10 October

      Evening constellations
      Pegasus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Perseus
      With binoculars
      the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Double Cluster in Perseus
      Through a telescope
      the Triangulum Galaxy (M33), M31 and its companions
      Shooting stars
      Orionids (around 21 October)

    11. 11 November

      Evening constellations
      Andromeda, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Aries, Taurus
      With binoculars
      the Pleiades (M45), the Andromeda Galaxy, the Double Cluster
      Through a telescope
      the Double Cluster in Perseus, the Andromeda Galaxy
      Shooting stars
      Leonids (around 17 November)
      The shepherd's sky
      The Poussinière (the Pleiades) rises in the east early in the evening, first of the winter procession. Read →

    12. 12 December

      Evening constellations
      Taurus, Orion, Auriga, Gemini, Perseus
      With binoculars
      the Pleiades, the Hyades, the Orion Nebula, late in the evening
      Through a telescope
      the Orion Nebula, the cluster M35
      Shooting stars
      Geminids (13–14 December)