December 29, 2024: Sirius, the night’s brightest star, is south at midnight as the calendar year ends. It is part of a large group of bright stars near Orion.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:18 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 4:28 p.m. CST. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Sirius Twinkles Wildly
During the next several days, Sirius, the night’s brightest star, is south at the midnight hour. The star rises in the east-southeast nearly 150 minutes after sundown. When the star is low in the sky, it twinkles wildly from air currents dispersing the starlight into its component colors. The effect is striking through a binocular.
The Dog Star seems to trail Orion, distinguished by the three stars of the Hunter’s belt. Reddish Betelgeuse is on one shoulder, while Rigel marks a knee. Sirius is part of Canis Major, the Greater Dog, while Procyon belongs to Canis Minor. During the night, the stars seem to shift westward, reaching their highest points in the southern sky.
As January progresses, these stars appear earlier and are higher in the eastern sky after nightfall. At Chicago’s latitude, Sirius rises at sunset on January 28. By mid-February it is higher in southeastern sky after sundown.
Sirius South at Midnight
With New Year’s revelry occurring, Sirius is south around the midnight hour. It is about one-third of the way from the southern horizon to overhead. Do not confuse it with bright Jupiter, high in the southwest, or Mars, high in the southeast. For sky watchers at the western edges of time zones, Sirius’ southern appearance occurs after midnight at the cusp of a new year.
Watch the western procession of the bright stars of winter. If you are celebrating around midnight, look for Sirius and the bright stars in the region. Happy New Year!
RECENT PODCASTS
LATEST ARTICLES
- 2026, April 8 -11: Morning Moon and Sagittarius Before Sunrise
A waning gibbous moon moves in front of Sagittarius before sunrise from April 8–11l. See the changing positions each morning. - 2026, April 7: Moon Near Antares Before Sunrise, Venus and Jupiter After Sunset
2026, April 7: A 75% illuminated moon appears near Antares before sunrise. After sunset, Venus and Jupiter shine brightly, with Venus moving toward a conjunction in the evening sky. - 2026, April 6: Moon Near Antares: Spot Messier 4 and Scorpius Before Sunrise
April 6, 2026: The 83% illuminated moon appears near Antares before sunrise. Use a binocular to locate Pi Scorpii, Al Niyat, and the globular cluster Messier 4 low in the south-southwest sky. - 2026, April 5: Early Spring Evening Stars – 10 Bright Stars Visible Tonight
See 10 of the 15 brightest stars during early spring evenings. Find Sirius, Arcturus, Jupiter, and more using this simple sky guide after twilight ends. - 2026, April 4-7: Moon Moves Past Scorpius Before Sunrise
April 4-7, 2026: Track the bright gibbous moon as it moves eastward in front of Scorpius before sunrise. See its changing position near Antares and the Scorpion’s claws from April 4–7.