too cold for stargazing?

Winter constellations are beautiful to behold -- on the few clear nights we get!  But if you would like to go beyond stargazing, or just want to learn more in the warmth of your living room, check out this amazing website by a retired astronomy professor from the University of Illinois:  http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/sowlist.html  Whether your interest is the ancient stories of the constellations, or the science of star formations and supernovas, this website has it all! 

In the meantime, enjoy the great views of the waning moon (waning gibbous at first, then "last quarter" on the 24th, followed by waning crescent), along with the planet Jupiter glowing brightly in the western sky just before sunset.  'Tis also the season for spectacular views of the constellations in the southern sky, such as Orion, the Winter Hexagon (called a "circle" by some, but really, it's more of a hexagon), and Orion's hunting dogs (Canis Major and Canis Minor). For great information on finding these constellations, check out this website; click on "tonight" in the upper right-hand corner:  http://earthsky.org/space From there, you can see not only stars for "tonight", but see what the coming week is bringing or search through previous articles.