Orion (constellation)

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Orion
Image:Orion constellation map.png click for larger image
Abbreviation	Ori
Genitive	Orionis
Symbology	Orion
Right ascension	5 h
Declination	5°
Area	594 sq. deg. Ranked 26th
Number of stars (magnitude < 3)	8
Brightest star	Rigel (β Orionis) (App. magnitude 0.12)
Meteor showers	Orionids Chi Orionids
Bordering constellations	Gemini Taurus Eridanus Lepus Monoceros
Visible at latitudes between +85° and −75° Best visible at 21:00 (9 p.m.) during the month of January
Image:Orion 3008 huge.jpg Photograph of Orion by Mouser Williams

Orion, a constellation often referred to as The Hunter, is a prominent constellation, perhaps the best-known in the sky. Its brilliant stars, on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world, make this constellation universally recognized.

Orion is standing next to the river Eridanus with his two hunting dogs Canis Major and Canis Minor, fighting Taurus the bull. Other prey of his, such as Lepus the hare, can be found nearby.

In Australia, the belt and sword of Orion are sometimes called the Saucepan, because the stars of Orion's belt and sword resemble this kitchen utensil as seen from the southern hemisphere. Orion's Belt is called "The Three Kings" (or "The Magi") in some places and, in South America, it is known as "Las Tres Marias" or "As Três Marias" (The Three Marys), in honor of Mary of Nazareth, Mary Magdalene, and Mary of Bethany, three major New Testament figures.

1 Notable features
2 Notable deep sky objects
3 History
4 Mythology
5 In Literature
6 Stars
7 See also
8 External links

Notable features

The constellation is extremely rich in bright stars and in deep-sky objects. Here are some of its stars:

λ Ori (Meissa) is Orion's head.
α Ori (Betelgeuse), at its right shoulder, is a red star, larger than the orbit of Venus. Although it is the α-star, it is somewhat fainter than Rigel. Betelgeuse is actually a sextuple star, but its companions are too small to be easily seen. It forms a point of the Winter Triangle.
γ Ori (Bellatrix), "warrior woman", is at Orion's left shoulder.
ζ Ori (Alnitak), ε Ori (Alnilam) and δ Ori (Mintaka) make up the asterism known as Orion's Belt: three bright stars in a row; even from these alone one can recognize Orion.
κ Ori (Saiph) is at Orion's right knee.
β Ori (Rigel), at the constellation's left knee, is a large white star, among the brightest in the sky. It has three companions, also difficult to see.
ι Ori (Hatsya) is at the tip of Orion's sword.

Image:Orion-guide.jpg

The major stars of Orion are all very similar in age and physical characteristics, suggesting that they may have a common origin. Betelgeuse is the single exception to this.

Orion is very useful in locating other stars. By extending the line of the Belt southwestward, Sirius (α CMa) can be found; northeastward, Aldebaran (α Tau). A line eastward across the two shoulders indicates the direction of Procyon (α CMi). A line from Rigel through Betelgeuse points to Castor and Pollux (α Gem and β Gem).

Notable deep sky objects

Hanging from Orion's belt is his sword, consisting of the multiple stars θ1 and θ2 Orionis, called Trapezium and the nearby Orion Nebula (M42). This is a spectacular object which can clearly identified with the naked eye as being something other than a star; using a pair of binoculars, its swirling clouds of nascent stars, luminous gas, and dust can be observed.

Another famous nebula is IC 434, the Horsehead Nebula, near ζ Orionis. It contains a dark dust cloud whose shape gives the nebula its name.

Besides these nebulae, surveying Orion with a small telescope will reveal a wealth of interesting deep sky objects, including Barnard's Loop, M43, and the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024).

History

Being such a brilliant pattern of stars, Orion was recognized by many ancient civilizations, though with different images.

The ancient Sumerians saw this star pattern as a sheep, while in ancient China, Orion was one of the 28 zodiac signs Xiu (宿). Known as Shen (參), literally meaning "three", it is believed to be named so for the three stars located in Orion's belt. (See Chinese constellation)

The stars were associated with Osiris, the god of death and underworld, by the ancient Egyptians. The Giza pyramid complex, which consists of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure, is said to be a sky-map of the Belt of Orion, that is, of Osiris. A reference to this is made in the animated movie The Prince of Egypt, where the constellation is shown as a portal from which the Angel of death comes.

The "belt and sword" of Orion are frequently referred to in ancient and modern literature, and even found recognition as the shoulder insignia of the 27th Infantry Division of the United States Army during both World Wars, probably because the division's first commander was Major General John F. O'Ryan.

Mythology

Image:Uranometria orion.jpg

Main article: Orion (mythology)

It is not very surprising to see such a prominent constellation to have more than one version of a story surrounding it in Greek mythology.

In one version, Orion claims himself to be the greatest hunter in the world. This is heard by Hera, the wife of Zeus, and she decided to send a scorpion after Orion. Orion is stung to death by the scorpion. Zeus felt sorry for Orion and put him onto the sky. The scorpion is also taken up to the sky, becoming the constellation Scorpius. It is an interesting fact that when one of the two constellations rises from the horizon, the other would have already set. So the two rivals can never see each other again.

In another version, Artemis, the goddess of hunt and the moon fell in love with him and stopped doing her job of iluminating the sky at night. her twin brother Apollo, seeing Orion swimming on the sea, dared his sister to strike what it just appeared to be a spot on the waves. Not knowing it was Orion, Artemis shot an arrow and killed him. Later when she found out what she did, she placed his body on the stars. The grief she felt explains why the moon looks so sad at night.

It may be that the naming of the constellation precedes the mythology in this case. It has been suggested that Orion is named from the Akkadian Uru-anna, the light of heaven, the name then passing into Greek mythology. As such, the myth surrounding Orion may derive simply from the relative positions of the constellations around it in the sky.

In some depictions, Orion appears to be composed of three bodies, having three arms [1], two divergent legs, and a small central one, as well as the three bodies being bound at the waist. As such, together with other features of the area in the Zodiac sign of Gemini (i.e. the Milky Way, the deserted area now considered as the constellations Camelopardalis and Lynx, and the constellations Gemini, Auriga, and Canis Major), this may be the origin of the myth of the cattle of Geryon, which forms one of The Twelve Labours of Herakles.

In Literature

The constellation is mentioned in Horace's Odes, Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, and Virgil's Aeneid.

The constellation of Orion also appears in Milton's Paradise Lost, and Tennyson's Locksley Hall, "Great Orion sloping slowly to the west".

Stars

Stars with proper names:

(58/α Ori) 0.45 – variable Betelgeuse [Betelgeuze, Beteiguex] or Mankib [Al Mankib]
< misreading of يد الجوزاء yad al-jauzā´ Hand of the central one [For a history of the error, see the article.]
< منكب mankib shoulder

(19/β Ori) 0.18 Rigel or Algebar [Elgebar]
< رِجل الجبار rijl[u] al-jabbār Leg of the mighty [one]

(24/γ Ori) 1.64 Bellatrix
< bellātrix The (female) warrior/amazon

(34/δ Ori) – double 2.25 & 6.85 Mintaka [Mentaka, Mintika]
< منطقة minţaqa[h] Belt (west end)

(46/ε Ori) 1.69 Alnilam [Alnihan, Alnitam]
< النظام an-niz̧ām The arrangement [of pearls]

(50/ζ Ori) – double 1.74, 4.21 Alnitak [Alnitah]
< النطاق an-niţāq: The belt (east end)

(41/θ¹ Ori) Trapezium – multiple star 4.98, 5.13, 6.71, 7.96
< trapezium < τραπέζιον

(28/η Ori) 3.35 Saif al Jabbar or Algiebba
< سيف الجبار saif al-jabbār Sword of the mighty [one]

(44/ι Ori) 2.75 Hatsya or Na'ir al Saif
Na'ir al Saif < نير السيف nair[u] as-saif Tip of the sword

(53/κ Ori) 2.07 Saiph
< سيف saif sword

(39/λ Ori) – double 3.39, 5.61 Meissa or Heka
< ? al-maisan The shining one
< ? al-haq'ah The white spot

(1/π³ Ori) 3.19 Tabit or Hassaleh – nearby
< الثابت aθ-θābit The endurer (fixed/constant one)

(36/υ Ori) 4.62 Thabit [Tabit] (see π³ Ori)
< الثابت aθ-θābit The endurer (fixed/constant one)

Stars with Bayer designations:

43/θ² Ori 4.98; 61/μ Ori 4.12; 67/ν Ori 4.42; 70/ξ Ori 4.45; 4/ο¹ Ori 4.71; 9/ο² Ori 4.06; 7/π¹ Ori 4.64; 2/π² Ori 4.35; 3/π⁴ Ori 3.68; 8/π⁵ Ori 3.71; 10/π⁶ Ori 4.47; 17/ρ¹ Ori 4.46; 48/σ Ori – double 3.77, 6.65; 20/τ Ori 3.59; 54/χ¹ Ori 4.39 – nearby; 62/χ² Ori 4.64; 37/φ¹ Ori 4.39; 40/φ² Ori 4.09; 30/ψ Ori 4.59; 47/ω Ori 4.50; 51/b Ori 4.90; 42/c Ori 4.58; 49/d Ori 4.77; 29/e Ori 4.13; 69/f¹ Ori 4.95; 72/f² Ori 5.34; 6/g Ori 5.18; 16/h Ori 5.43; 14/i Ori 5.33; 74/k Ori 5.04; 75/l Ori 5.39; 23/m Ori – double 4.99, 7.12; 33/n¹ Ori 5.46; 38/n² Ori 5.32; 22/o Ori 4.72; 27/p Ori 5.07; 32/A Ori 4.20

Stars with Flamsteed designations:

5 Ori 5.33; 11 Ori 4.65; 13 Ori 6.15; 15 Ori 4.81; 21 Ori 5.34; 25 Ori 4.89; 31 Ori 4.71; 35 Ori 5.60; 45 Ori 5.24; 52 Ori 5.26; 55 Ori 5.36; 56 Ori 4.76; 57 Ori 5.92; 59 Ori 5.89; 60 Ori 5.21; 63 Ori 5.67; 64 Ori 5.14; 66 Ori 5.63; 68 Ori 5.76; 71 Ori 5.20; 73 Ori 5.44; 77 Ori 5.19; 78 Ori 5.55

External links

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Wikimedia Commons has more media related to:

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Map of Orion
The Deep Photographic Guide to the Constellations: Orion
Anne Wright's page on Orion Note: Astrological perspective
Melbourne Planetarium: Orion Sky Tour
The clickable Orion

Constellations listed by Ptolemy

The 88 modern Constellations

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Categories: Orion constellation

Orion (constellation)

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Contents

Notable features

Notable deep sky objects

History

Mythology

In Literature

Stars

See also

External links

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