[Contents], [Among the stars]

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Orion

Orion is one of the most easily recognized constellations, allong with the Big Dipper and Scorpio. It lies on the celestial equator and dominates the winter sky in both north and south hemispheres.

• The faint winter Milky Way passes just to the east of Orion.
• In mythology, Orion is the Great Hunter who was accidentally killed by an arrow from the bow of Artemis, goddess of the Moon and of the hunt.

The three brightest stars of Orion are

• Betelgeuse (a red supergiant in the shoulder in the NW corner),
• Bellatrix (a blue giant in the other shoulder), and
• Rigel (a blue supergiant in the SW corner in the foot of Orion).

Three stars make up the belt, and from the belt hangs a short sword.

If you examine the sword with binoculars or a telescope, you will find it made up of scattered stars and glowing patches of nebulosity. This is the Orion Nebula. It is the brighest nebula in the sky, and it is the site of star formation.

Sirius, the brightest star in our sky, is in the Great Dog at Orion's feet.