Arron Budnitz, age 11, 'of Newport, N. H., for his questions

Which is the brightest star in the heavens'

The brightest star in the heavens is Sirius, the Dog Star. We see this brightest of stars on a winter's night north of the equator. It is easy to spot, for it is near a whole group of brilliant stare. Find the constellation Orion.. the Hunter. There are three bright stars close together which form the line of Orion's belt. There is a brilliant star way above the center star and a brilliant star way down below it. This neat design of brilliant stars is hard to miss.

Rising a little later than Orion, is the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog. This is where we find Sirius the Dog Star. Sirius sparkles like a great white diamond in the sky and it is the brightest star seen anywhere from our earth. The moon and sometimes the planet Venus are sometimes brighter than Sirius   but then, neither of them is a star.