Happy New Year!

But how do we KNOW that it is a new year? The Earth travels in its orbit around the sun, and there is no "bump" to let us know that we are beginning a new orbit. We know from the stars.
The sky gives us all its brightest nighttime star, Sirius, at its highest, on the meridian, at precisely midnight between December 31 and January 1. (The local meridian is an imaginary line from the north pole, to the south point on our horizon. It is directly South when we look at the sky.) This photo shows Sirius, the "dog Star" to the lower left, on the meridian at midnight, and Orion, the mighty hunter, in the upper right. Orion's belt is made up of three stars on a diagonal, and his sword consists of three more stars in an almost vertical line beneath the belt. Please click on this photo to get an enlarged image so you can see the stars more clearly. Think of it! The sky gives you a gift, its brightest at the highest, as a "sign" or "gift" to mark the start of your new year. May your year be rewarding, sparkling, and bright! And thanks to my good friend Sam for the astronomical details!