Orion (constellation)
Constellation|name = Orion |abbreviation = Ori |genitive = Orionis |symbology =
Orion |RA = 5 |dec= 5 |areatotal = 594 |arearank = 26th |numberstars = 8 |starname =
Rigel (β Orionis) |starmagnitude = 0.12 |meteorshowers =
*
Orionids*
Chi Orionids |bordering =
*
Gemini*
Taurus*
Eridanus*
Lepus*
Monoceros |latmax = 85 |latmin = 75 |month = January |notes=
Credit: 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 are found on the
celestial equator and are visible throughout the world, making 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.
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 (other studies say it has only two companions, and the existence of any companion at all is disputed), 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.
*
η Ori (Eta Orionis), between
Delta Orionis and
Rigel.
*
κ Ori (Saiph) is at Orion's right knee.
*β Ori (
Rigel), at the constellation's left knee, is a large blue-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.
|
Using Orion to find stars in neighbor constellations |
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 southeastward,
Sirius (α CMa) can be found; northwestward,
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). Additionally, Betelgeuse forms part of the
Winter Triangle, and Rigel is part of the
Winter Circle. Sirius and Procyon, which may be located from Orion by tracing lines, also are points in both the Triangle and the Circle.
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 be clearly identified with the naked eye as 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,
M78 and the
Flame Nebula (NGC 2024).
All of these nebulae are part of the larger
Orion Molecular Cloud Complex which is located approximately 1,500 light years away and is hundreds of light years across. It is one of the most intense regions of stellar formation visible in our galaxy.
The configurations of the constellation Orion roughly formed about 1.5 million years ago, because of relative slow movements of stars within the constellation from earth's perspective (especially the belt of Orion), constellation Orion will remain visible in the night sky for the next 1 to 2 millions years, making the constellation one of the longest observable constellation parallel to the rise of human civilization. (result generated from
SkyChart III).
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.
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.
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,
Artemis, the goddess of hunt and the moon fell in love with him and stopped doing her job of illuminating the sky at night. Her twin brother Apollo, seeing Orion swimming on the sea, dared his sister to strike what only 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 among 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
Finnish mythology the constellation of Orion is called the scythe of
Väinämöinen. The term most likely comes from the fact it can be seen in the sky in early autumn, the time of haymaking.
|
Orion as it can be seen in the night sky with the naked eye |
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".
The
Bible mentions Orion 4 times:
Job 9:9,
Job 38:31 ,
Amos 5:8 and
Isaiah 13:10.
The Romanian poet
Geo Bogza devoted a poem to Orion.
* Orion was one of four constellations depicted in a
United States Postal Service commemorative stamp issue of October 2005 entitled "Constellations". (
image of four stamps in release)
*Orion is a protector in
Jimmy Buffett's book
The Jolly Mon.
*Orion was the name given to the Aurora-class crusier that the Atlantis crew commandeered late in the second season of
Stargate:Atlantis.
*Orion was the name of the cat in the movie
Men in Black.
*In the
Star Trek fictional universe, Orion is home to a civilization of green-skin humanoids that practice a slave trade using their women.
* In the movie
Blade Runner, the dying
Replicant portrayed by
Rutger Hauer tells
Harrison Ford's character that he "has seen things you people wouldn't believe, attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion."
* "Orion" is the ultimate goal in the "Master of Orion" series for DOS and PC
In music
* The
Sword of Orion is the name of a composition of music by composer
Vangelis on his 1976 album,
Albedo 0.39.
* "The Arms of Orion" is the name of the song from the Batman Soundtrack (1989) performed by Prince and Sheena Easton. Additionally, it is a band from
West Chester,
Pennsylvania.
* "Orion" is also the name of an instrumental composition by heavy metal band
Metallica, on the album
Master of Puppets.
* The song "Untouchable Face" by
Ani DiFranco, describes the alignment of billiard balls by saying "I see orion and say nothing".
*
Bruce Springsteen mentiones Orion in
Devils & Dust (2005).
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
*
Orvandil*
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
