Night sky tonight — See the Orion Nebula shine after dark on Dec. 18

Anytime after dark is great for looking more closely at one of the jewels of the winter night sky. Look below Orion’s Belt — which will be visible in the southeast after sunset — for a short vertical line of faint stars known to astronomers as Orion’s Sword.

A soft haze of light may be visible surrounding the middle star. This is the Orion Nebula (M42), the closest large star-forming region to the solar system, which orbits within the Milky Way at just 1,500 light-years from Earth. — Jamie Carter