Southbound motorists are likely to see the constellation Orion astride the southeastern horizon not far from low-hanging Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Sirius is so bright that it's often mistaken for an airplane, but watch carefully. If it doesn't move it is probably the Dog Star. This fanciful graphic by Duane Hilton shows the pre-dawn sky as it might appear this week to a southbound freeway commuter. Click on the image to view a larger version with objects in the sky labeled.
Swerving drivers are better off with their eyes on the road.
It's also a rewarding week for early-rising meteor watchers. Wednesday's New Moon sets the stage for the annual maximum of sporadic meteors in the northern hemisphere. The absence of moonlight won't make much difference to drivers on city-lit freeways, but rural observers can expect to see 5 to 10 meteors per hour. A few bright shooting stars, like the spectacular fireball many people saw in Southern California on Wednesday, will likely dazzle urbanites as well. As our planet plows through this dusty background, meteoroids hit the atmosphere and burn up, resulting in a low-level meteor shower that lasts all year long .