FROM TODAY'S PRINT EDITIONS:
The second decade of the third millennium begins today. Sirius, the brightest true star in the sky, crosses the meridian – its highest point in the sky - at midnight tonight. You can find Sirius (the “Dog Star”) in the east after 9 p.m. Trace a line through the three stars of Orion’s belt, southeastward to Sirius. It’s bright because it’s close – “only” 8.8 light years from Earth. It’s orbited once in 50 years by a faint companion star, nicknamed “the Pup.”
(X-RAY IMAGE: B. Smith, East Tennessee University, Chandra Space Telescope)