Tonight’s sky promises to give avid stargazers a wonderful view. Yes, die-hard astronomers study the skies during these cold, winter nights. But you can dress warmly to take a glimpse of tonight’s wonderful sky, or do what I do: observe while sitting in the hot tub.

At 9 p.m. in Central Oregon, the constellation Orion will be due south and about 40 degrees above the horizon. Forty degrees is equivalent to four fists held at arm length.

Orion is one of the easiest constellations to identify, second only to the Big Dipper. The distinguishing asterism of Orion is the three bright stars of the belt and the three stars of the sword. The right shoulder of Orion (left side as we see it), is a very bright red star, Betelgeuse (pronounced Bay-tel-goy-sah, although most people simply pronounce it “beetle juice”).

Betelgeuse is a super giant star nearing the end of its life at a distance of 429 light years. Astronomers are expecting it to nova at any time, so it would be worth taking a look at it once in a while. It’s a real gem when viewed through a telescope.

Another gem in the night sky is the bright blue star on the lower right side named Rigel. It is a relatively young star that is burning a prodigious amount of hydrogen fuel and will burn out in a few billion years. The distance is around 777 light years.

The three stars of Orion’s belt are, from left: Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. They have been revered for centuries. The Great Pyramids of Giza have the same footprint as these stars.

The three bright objects that form the sword hanging from the belt are not necessarily stars. If you look with a pair of good binoculars or a small telescope, the center star in the sword is actually the Great Orion Nebula, M42, at only 1,500 light years away.

If you draw a straight line from Betelgeuse to the left shoulder star Meissa, it will lead you to a very bright planet: Jupiter. Take a look with your binoculars held against a solid object to steady the view and you should be able to make out some of the moons discovered by Galileo. Continue on the line from Orion through Jupiter and find a beautiful open star cluster, the Pleiades, M45, located in the constellation Taurus.

Bill Logan is an expert solar observer and a volunteer amateur astronomer with University of Oregon’s Pine Mountain Observatory. He lives in Bend. Contact: blogan0821@gmail.com.