Greetings, fellow astrophiles!
The latest article in the Upstate NY Stargazing series, “Upstate NY Stargazing in January: Quadrantid meteors and Winter’s best early evenings,” has just been posted to newyorkupstate.com and syracuse.com.
Direct Link: newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/2017/01/…_winters_best_early_eveni.html
Direct Link: www.syracuse.com/outdoors/2017/01/…_winters_best_early_eveni.html
Anyone clicking on the link will be treated to a remarkable image of the Horsehead and Flame Nebulae, next to the belt-edge star Alnitak in the constellation Orion the Hunter. With the kind reproduction permissions from Andrew Chatman of ASRAS, I’ve included the hi-res version of the image below for your downloading and desktop-background-ing pleasure.

Caption: The Flame and Horsehead Nebulae in the constellation Orion the Hunter. The belt star Alnitak is the brightest star in the image, just above the Flame Nebula. Image by Mike Selby, Andrew Chatman (member of ASRAS-Rochester Astronomy Club) and Stefan Schmidt at SC Observatory, Samphran, Thailand. Downloadable images: 3000×1956 6436×4196.
The Quadrantids turned out to be a wash for CNY, but we’ve had a few crystal clear nights near the New Moon for planetary and other observing. With, perhaps, a last major focus on Orion this year, a How-To seeking guide for nearby constellations using Orion was included in the article (reproduced below with caption).

Caption: Orion can guide you around its neighborhood. Red = belt stars to Sirius and Canis Major; Orange = Rigel and belt center to Gemini; Yellow = Bellatrix and Betelgeuse to Canis Minor; Green = Belt stars to Aldebaran and Taurus; Blue = Saiph and Orion’s head to Capella in Auriga. Click for a larger view.