“Winter Stars and the Mariner” at Treworgy Planetarium at Mystic Seaport Museum

The earlier sunset in the winter season provides even more time for stargazing! Join us for an overview of the winter night sky, starting with locating the Big Dipper and using this shape to find the North Star, Polaris. Once a sense of direction is established, we will locate other well-known constellations and shapes like Orion the Hunter and Taurus the Bull. We’ll also keep an eye out for any visible planets—mostly Jupiter and Saturn, but Mercury can also be seen for part of the season. We will pay a visit to our closest neighbor in space, the Moon. And finally, we will explore ways in which sailors used the night sky to navigate the open ocean.