A handful of stars are bright enough to stand out even from a city, and each anchors a constellation. Once you know them they work as signposts: find one, and the stars around it fall into place.
Brightness is measured as magnitude, where a lower number means a brighter star. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, and about a dozen more are bright enough to see without trouble in town.
- Sirius
- in Canis Major, the brightest star of the night sky, low in the southern sky in winter evenings.
- Betelgeuse and Rigel
- the orange shoulder and the blue-white foot of Orion, in winter.
- Capella
- in Auriga, a golden star that rides high overhead on winter evenings.
- Arcturus
- in Boötes, an orange star you find by following the curve of the Big Dipper's handle, best in spring.
- Vega and Altair
- in Lyra and Aquila, two of the three stars of the Summer Triangle.