Is this a space invasion? It does indeed resemble one. In fact it is a splendid Nasa photograph of a Geminid meteor shower:
Such events are caused when fragments of dust often far older than Earth crash into our atmosphere at tens of thousands of miles per hour, each causing a mini-explosion. This one came from somewhere in the direction of the constellation of Gemini the Twins. Hence the name.
Some people cannot see meteorites. The trick is that it takes a few minutes for the eyes to get used to the darkness. So take a warm coat and a hot drink.
But a meteor shower is not always just a pretty sight. If a meteor, instead of being a fraction of an inch in size, is bigger than a house, it could burst through the atmosphere and smash into Earth, there doing tremendous and perhaps lethal damage.
Earth is thus strewn with ancient iron boulders. In about 800 BC the Hittite people learned to fashion steel weapons from them and became dominant - until others copied them.
When the smash-up comes, few stars in either galaxy will actually collide — because they are so far apart — but their galactic structures will be flung into chaos. Cosmic debris will fly everywhere. There will be massive loss of life.
'Majesty! The Queen’s hair!'
Now to less grave matters. Rising in the east is the constellation of Coma Berenice, or Berenice’s Hair. This Egyptian queen’s beautiful hair was admired by her jealous husband. When he returned victorious from war, she cut off her hair as thanks and gave it to the priests from whom it was stolen. The king flew into a rage and threatened to massacre the priesthood. But one pointed to the sky: "Majesty! The Queen’s hair!” The king believed them and called this region Coma Berenice.
Among them is the dim Sun-like star Beta Berenices 30 light-years away. It would be invisible from a suburban street with the naked eye. Which shows our own galactic insignificance.
Also notable here is the sinister-looking Black Eyed Galaxy (M64), with a bright light winking amidst a dust cloud. It resembles a gangster lurking in an alley, ready to shoot and flee.
To the south lies the so called "Sea", a mass of constellations with watery names: Hydra the Water snake; Cetus the whale; Eridanus the River; and Pisces the Fish; and several others.
But like an island in the constellation of Canis Major, the Great Hound, is Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. It is not really the brightest but appears so, because of its proximity, only 8.6 light-years away.
Sirius has a super dense white dwarf companion star called Sirius B. Late last century there was a furious controversy about whether aliens from Sirius B had taught astronomy to a West African tribe. However, the case collapsed when in seemed to have been based on sloppy research.
Night sky: February 2016
Jupiter is close to Mars and Venus, climbing above them as winter proceeds.