Last night, in the crisp air, my stargazing group identified a number of objects and constellations in the sky with the help of the binoculars we were afforded, the telescope, and the instructor's profound knowledge of the cosmic neighborhood.
Jupiter was found in the constellation of Taurus, and through the telescope I actually was able to see some of its red patterns! It was found overhead as were the Pleiades, in the horns of the Bull, although they were less easily visible than they were at the last stargaze.
I hadn't realized that the belt of Orion was so easily identifiable, and that Betelgeuse and Rigel emitted different colors. Rigel is a blue supergiant and Belegeuse is a red supergiant.
I also learned that Betelgeuse, one of the most notable stars in Orion, is very unstable and likely to become a supernova within 10,000 years. Although it is unlikely, Betelgeuse may reach the end of its lifetime during my lifetime, and when it does so, it may even leave an impact on our solar system and what we see and the sky and our Sun.
Cassiopeia, Leo, and Perseus were among the other constellations I saw. My instructor informed us that the north star Polaris and the two dippers were more unreliable than usual to use as references at their current locations, as they were harder to observe.
Through the telescope, I observed a few pairs of binary stars (Sirius being one of them), and also, albeit faintly, the Andromeda Galaxy, which is the nearest one to our Milky Way Galaxy. I also saw some other "M" numbers such as M42, the Orion Nebula.
On my sky calendar beforehand, I observed that the moon was apparently very near Spica (the brightest star in the constellation Virgo)- but this occurrence was only visible in Madagascar and southern Africa. From the calendar map, however, I also discerned that tonight, the moon is to be seen very near Saturn and it will also be a last quarter moon, meaning it will look half-illuminated.
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