July Night Sky

A common visitor to the winter night sky where I live the constellation Orion (the hunter) is also know as The Ghost Of The Shimmering Summer Dawn.  A name taken from a poem by Sophia Prentice in 1924.

Late in July Orion returns ascending in the east before sunrise.  He is positioned on his side with the distinctive stars of his belt pointing up.

Orion's shift from a predawn appearance to the evening sky is explained by the shift westward of all the stars as a consequence of our orbit around the sun.  Fun factoid:  Earth's orbit causes all the stars to rise approximately four minutes earlier each day. 

So, if you have to get-up to pee look for Orion in the east before sunrise.

Fingers-crossed for clear skies.