Find Orion, the winter hunter

01What you need

• Warm layers, a hat and mittens for everyoneHave
• A flashlight covered with red cellophane or red tapeHave / $3
• A blanket or camp chairsHave
• Paper and a pencil to sketch the starsHave

Where: A familiar spot at home with a view to the east and as few lights in your eyes as you can manage.

02Steps

1. Pick the night and the time

   DadChoose a clear night. In October Orion clears the eastern horizon late in the evening; through November and December it comes up earlier, and by December it is rising in the east as evening falls. The 1911 book says the stars come up about an hour earlier every fifteen days.

2. Let your eyes adjust

   TogetherTurn off the porch light and put phones away. Use only the red flashlight. Give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes in the dark; the stars keep getting easier to see while you wait.

3. Find the belt

   KidFace east and look for three bright stars close together in a short, nearly straight line. That's Orion's belt. The 1911 book says people called them the Three Kings.

4. Name the shoulder and the foot

   TogetherLook above and below the belt for two bright stars on each side: the shoulders and the feet. The reddish one at a shoulder is Betelgeuse. The bright blue-white one at a foot is Rigel, the brightest star in Orion. Ask: "Which one looks red to you?"

   

5. Follow the belt both ways

   Dad showsKid copiesHold an arm out along the belt's line. Follow it one way to Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, which the 1911 book calls the hunter's dog. Follow it the other way to orange Aldebaran, the bull's eye in Taurus.

6. Sketch it and sign off

   KidDraw the belt, the four corner stars, Sirius and Aldebaran by the red light. When they can find the belt and name two stars without help, sign their field card. Next clear night, find the North Star with the Big Dipper.

03If it stalls

• If you can't see Sirius yet, wait. The hunter's dog follows the hunter, so early in the evening it may still be below the horizon or behind trees.
• If the sky looks empty, a light is probably in your eyes. Move so the house blocks the streetlight and wait a few more minutes.
• If they get cold or bored, go inside, warm up, and come back out for five minutes. Orion will have climbed a little.
• Once they know the shape, look for Orion on every clear night this winter. It's easy to show a friend.

04Variations

05Sources

• 1911 scouting handbook, pp. 83–84. The 1911 book calls Orion the finest constellation, names Betelgeuse at the right shoulder and Rigel at the foot, calls the belt stars the Three Kings and says Orion is seen only in winter. It places Sirius in Orion's hound and shows Orion hunting Taurus, whose eye is Aldebaran. It says the stars appear about an hour earlier every fifteen days. Project Gutenberg (public domain in the USA) Checked Oct 15, 2026
• Finding Orion, Betelgeuse and Rigel. NASA says to look for three bright stars in a near-straight line for Orion's belt, with two brighter stars marking the shoulders and two the feet. Betelgeuse is a red supergiant at Orion's right shoulder; Rigel, a blue supergiant at the left foot, is the brightest star in Orion. NASA Checked Oct 15, 2026
• Orion rising, and the belt as a pointer. NASA JPL's December skywatching guide says Orion rises in the east as evening falls, with Taurus and orange Aldebaran above it, and that the belt stars point to Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. NASA's March 2022 guide adds that the belt points the other way to Aldebaran. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Checked Oct 15, 2026
• Dark-adapted eyes, red light and cold. The National Park Service says eyes need 20 to 30 minutes to adjust fully to the dark, that bright white lights and phones spoil it, and that red cellophane or tape turns a flashlight red. The National Weather Service says to dress in layers, wear a warm hat and mittens, and cover exposed skin in the cold. National Park Service; National Weather Service Checked Oct 15, 2026