Now that we are officially into spring, skywatchers are becoming more aware of the change in the celestial scenery.
Stepping outside between 10 p.m. and midnight local daylight time, we immediately notice the brilliant luminaries of winter taking their leave in the western sky: Orion is beginning to disappear below the western horizon. Low on the west-northwest horizon, Taurus the Bull is also ready to drop out of sight. If you look low to the west-southwest, you can still glimpse Sirius, the brightest of all the stars. Normally appearing a brilliant blue, its position down in the horizon haze may cause it to scintillate or splinter into different colors of the rainbow.
