星座を見て、季節の移り変わりを確認

　今の季節では、早朝４時に窓を開けると、南東の空に巨大な「冬のダイヤモンド」が日本列島の頭上から南半球へと広がってます。一番南には２１個ある一等星の中で最も明るい「シリウス」が燦然と輝いています。「シリウス」の赤緯は－１６°なのでオーストラリア北部を通過します。

　一方、最も北の「カペラ」の位置は赤緯＋４５°なので、北海道の最北・稚内市の真上を通過します。また、おうし座の「アルデバラン」は赤緯＋１６°なのでフィリピンの真上を通過し、有名な「オリオン座」のベルトの位置の「三っ星」の最も右の星「ミンタカ」は常に赤道の真上を通過してます。

　日本列島は毎日残暑が続いていても、季節はどんどん変化しており、約１００日後にはこの「冬のダイアモンド」の一番南の「シリウス」が午前０時に真南に来ると２０２４年１月１日です。今度こそ「除夜の鐘」が鳴ってるとき真南を見て確認してください。

　なお、今の季節に「冬のダイヤモンド」の東に一際明るい惑星があります。これは「金星」です。ご存じの通り、金星は真夜中には出ません。夕方、西の空に出る「宵の明星」か、今回のように東の空に出る「明けの明星」のどちらかです。理由は内惑星のため地球より太陽に近いからです。ぜひ、早朝に、東から南東の空を見てくださいね。

Dear my friend as an earthling

　At this time of year, when you open your window at 4 a.m. in the morning, you'll see a huge "Winter Diamond" in the southeastern sky stretching from above the Japanese archipelago to the southern hemisphere. In the far south, Sirius which is the brightest of the 21 first-magnitude stars, shines brilliantly. "Sirius" has a declination of -16 degrees, so it will pass through northern Australia.

　On the other hand, the northernmost "Capella" is located at +45° declination, so it passes directly above Wakkanai City where is the northernmost part of Hokkaido, Japan. In addition, "Aldebaran" in Taurus has a declination of ＋16 degrees, so it passes directly over the Philippines, and "Mintaka", the rightmost star of the "three stars" in the belt of the famous "Orion", is always above the equator.

　Even though the Japanese archipelago continues lingering heat every day, the seasons are rapidly changing, and in about 100 days, the southernmost star of the "Winter Diamond", "Sirius", will be due south at midnight of January 1st, 2024. Next time, when the New Year's Eve Bell rings, please look at due south and confirm.

　Additionally, there is a particularly bright planet to the east of "Winter Diamond" in this season. This is "Venus". As you know, Venus does not appear at midnight. It can be either the "evening star" that appears in the western sky in the evening, or the "morning star" that appears in the eastern sky like this time. This is because "Venus" is the inner planet, so it is closer to the sun than our Earth. Please take a look at the sky from east to southeast in this season, early in the morning.

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