The starry sky is especially beautiful in the summer. On clear hot nights, the number of lights above your head is amazing. However, there are celestial drawings that are best observed in the cold season. These include the constellation Orion. Its scheme includes 209 stars available for observation with the naked eye. Orion is famous precisely because of the large number of bright space objects in its composition, easily distinguishable from the Earth. The ideal time to observe them is from November to January.
Recognizable anywhere in the world
What the constellation Orion looks like, is known to almost all the inhabitants of our planet, since it is visible in both hemispheres. This is facilitated by the location of stars almost on the line of the celestial equator.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the pattern of the constellation Orion is especially pronounced in the late winter evenings in the southern sky in winter. At this time, the three stars forming the Orion belt and located on an almost perfectly straight line are close to the horizon at a slight angle to it. A recognizable silhouette is formed by eight clearly visible luminaries. Since ancient times, the heavenly pattern is associated with the image of the hunter Orion with a sword on his belt, a club in one hand and a shield in the other.
Legend
The constellation Orion for children is described for the first time not in astronomy classes, but in the process of acquaintance with the legends of Ancient Greece. According to legend, the hero, later placed in heaven, was known as a skilled hunter, whose heart was struck by the beauty of the Pleiades - the nymphs of the goddess Artemis. Orion’s attempts to speak with them were unsuccessful: embarrassed nymphs rushed away and called their patron to help. Artemis turned the seven Pleiades into a dove. They flew high into the sky, where they soon became a constellation.
Orion quickly ceased to grieve over the nymphs and fell in love with Meropu, the daughter of the king of the island of Chios Oinopion. The father demanded that the hero perform a feat worthy of the hand of his daughter. However, Orion decided to do his own thing: he intended to steal Meropa. The king learned about the intentions of the hunter and blinded him in revenge.
Hero's death
For a long time alone, Orion roamed the earth in search of someone who could restore his sight. In the end, he was regretted by one of the Cyclops who met and took him to Helios. The sun god was able to make the hero sighted again. Orion, without thinking twice, returned to his favorite pastime. During the pursuit of prey it was noticed by Artemis, who herself loved to hunt. Orion soon became her lover, which greatly upset the goddess’s brother, Apollo. He decided to destroy the hunter by cunning. Apollo, who knew the pride of Artemis, in the conversation doubted the accuracy of her archery and, for the sake of verification, invited her to try to hit a distant dark point that flickered in the waters of the sea. The goddess easily completed the task, not suspecting that the point was the head of Orion, who decided to swim.
Soon Artemis found out that she had become the killer of her lover. Mourning Orion, she vowed to always remember him and placed him among the stars. So Orion, a constellation, shone in the sky. Myths also tell of another version of the fate of the hero. According to one version, in the hope of becoming the husband of the beautiful Meropa, he bravely fought with wild beasts that threatened the inhabitants of the island of Chios. Defeating everyone, however, he did not receive the girl, but was captured and blinded by her father. After meeting with Helios, Orion regained his sight, but after some time was killed by an angry Artemis - the patroness of animals.
Well marked
So, what the constellation Orion looks like today, it was seen many thousands of years ago. This is one of the celestial drawings included in the Almagest catalog of Claudius Ptolemy, compiled in about 140 AD. The attention that the ancients paid to Orion is not accidental: the constellation is full of bright elements that are perfectly visible from the Earth, which attracts curious eyes. Modern scientists also do not bypass the heavenly drawing. Many of the facilities located here are fairly well understood.
The two brightest stars in the constellation Orion are Rigel and Betelgeuse. Based on these two points, it is easy to find the silhouette of a hunter in the sky completely.
Alpha orion
Betelgeuse translated from Arabic means "armpit." The name of the star uniquely describes its location. A bright dot is placed on the hunter's right armpit. In its brightness, Betelgeuse is fifteen thousand times superior to the Sun. The size of the star is larger than the orbit of Mars. This is a red supergiant, distant from us at a distance of 540-650 light years. It is attributed to semi-regular variable stars that change their visual brilliance over time. The interval of such a change for Betelgeuse is from 0.4 to 1.3 magnitude, and the main period lasts 6 years.
Beta orion
Despite the fact that Betelgeuse is the alpha, this is not the brightest point that the figure of the constellation Orion contains. The crossbar (in translation from the Arabic “leg”) surpasses it in this parameter. The luminosity of a star is about 130 thousand times greater than the solar, the distance from us to it is (according to various estimates) from 700 to 900 light years. The crossbar is the closest star to Earth with such great luminosity. The visual magnitude is 0.12.
The crossbar is a white-blue supergiant that is part of the star system. His companion Rigel B is significantly inferior in brightness: his apparent magnitude is estimated at +6.7. The distance between the two components is approximately 2,200 astronomical units. The proximity to the bright supergiant makes it possible to examine Rigel B only through a telescope. The system has a third component - Rigel S.
Short life
Such stars in the constellation of Orion, such as Betelgeuse and Rigel, due to their massiveness and huge luminosity, are doomed to a relatively short existence. The age of both objects is estimated at about 10 million years: they are much younger than the Sun, which is already more than 4.5 billion years. Until the age of our star, they will not be able to survive. The huge mass, which creates a significant pressure, contributes to a very rapid burning of the star’s internal fuel. As a result, over time, the nucleus collapses, turning into a neutron one. They will collide with him and during interaction the outer shells will bounce with great speed. A supernova explosion of the second type will occur.
A similar fate awaits both Rigel and Betelgeuse. During the explosions, the picture of the hunter in the sky will undergo serious changes compared to what the constellation Orion looks like now. The Rigel collapse will be visible from Earth both day and night. The star in size will become like a quarter of the moon, gradually fading and turning into a subtle point. Betelgeuse, according to scientists, will live for at least two thousand more years and after the explosion will compete with the Moon for its size. In this form, the star will last no longer than a few weeks, and then also fade away. However, these events are a matter of the distant future, while the bright stars in the constellation Orion still delight us with their light.
Belt
The constellation includes a large number of asterisms (clearly visible groups of stars with separate historically established names). Thanks to one of them, the constellation Orion for children and for adults becomes easily recognizable at almost any time of the year. This is the hunter's belt, consisting of three rather bright stars: Mintaka (delta, from the Arabic “belt”), Alnitak (zeta, translated as “pearl belt”) and Alnilam (epsilon, “sash”). Asterism is also called so: "Three Kings" or "Rake". Three bright points form an almost perfect straight line and are equally spaced from each other. If we continue the southeastern edge of the line, it will point to Sirius - the brightest star in the night sky. The northwestern part of the line can be extended to Aldebaran, the red star in Taurus.
Sheaf
A recognizable constellation silhouette is created by asterism called Sheaf or Butterfly. It is formed by several bright stars: Betelgeuse, Rigel, Bellatrix (gamma), Alnitak, Mintaka and Saif (kappa).
The gamma of Orion is the third brightest star in this celestial pattern. It belongs to the class of blue-white giants, has a visible magnitude of 1.64. The luminosity of a space object exceeds the solar by 4 thousand times, but its mass and radius are not so impressive. The first is about 9 solar masses, and the second parameter exceeds the corresponding characteristic of our luminary by only 5.7 times. By age, Bellatrix is similar to Rigel and Betelgeuse. This young star has been shining for 10 million years. Scientists prophesy her transformation into a red giant in a few million years.
The white-blue star Saif is located at about the same distance from Earth as Rigel, but it seems much dimmer due to the fact that a significant part of its energy is emitted in the invisible range. The luminosity of Saif is 5.5 thousand times greater than the sun, and its diameter is 11 times.
Main weapon
The sword is no less famous asterism, which the constellation Orion boasts. Its scheme includes two stars - θ and ι (theta and iota), as well as the Great Orion Nebula.
Theta is a multiple star system, consisting of four bright components and the same amount of less noticeable. They form a small quadrangle known as the Trapezium of Orion. These are fairly young space objects formed from interstellar gas and dust. Material for luminaries came from an invisible cloud occupying the eastern part of the constellation. This is the Great Orion Nebula.
Star Crib
In the hunter's formidable weapon is the cradle of future stars. The Orion Nebula or M42 is the birthplace of a large number of space objects. It is 1,500 light-years distant from us, however, if desired, it can be seen with the naked eye. To do this, look at the area under the belt of Orion. M42 looks like a small speck resembling a comet. In photographs taken with powerful telescopes, the nebula is striking in its beauty. She is known at the same time not only for her impressive size and reddish glow. There are many so-called star nurseries, where future luminaries are formed. This is the closest similar area to us. From the other stellar nurseries, the Great Orion Nebula is also distinguished by the fact that here clouds of gas and dust practically do not interfere with the study of star formation processes. Thanks to this, almost all modern knowledge about the formation of luminaries is gleaned from observations of M42.
Black hole
The map of the constellation Orion relatively recently supplemented with another interesting object, located near Trapeze. Studies have shown that during the evolution of the M42 nebula, a large number of collisions of stars took place, which could cause the formation of a black hole, a hundred times superior to the Sun in mass. This assumption is in excellent agreement with the data on high velocities characteristic of the stars that make up the Trapezium of Orion. If the existence of a black hole is confirmed, then it will become the closest similar object to the solar system.
Stallion head
The shapes resembling animals differ only in the constellations in the sky. Orion is famous for another nebula called the Horsehead (or B33). She really resembles a horse's head in its outlines. The ability to see a clear outline is due to the illumination created by another nebula that acts as a backdrop for the Horsehead. B33 itself does not emit light; it is referred to as absorbing nebulae. Accordingly, in the absence of a bright background, it would be very poorly noticeable. And in the existing conditions, not every device copes with the task of its detection, therefore the “Horsehead” was made a kind of marker of serviceability and accuracy of the equipment.
Reflective light
The description of what the constellation Orion looks like will be incomplete if we do not mention a whole series of nebulae, often ignored by researchers due to their lower external expressiveness. These are the so-called reflective nebulae. Of course, they lose against the background of the bright M42, but nevertheless they are of some interest. Nebulae NGC 1977, NGC 1975 and NGC 1973 are located in the Sword of Orion just north of M42. Due to the reflection of cosmic dust by the light of bright young stars, these nebulae have a bluish color in the images. In photographs taken by telescopes, three nebulae, separated by dark regions, along the edge illuminated by the reddish radiation of hydrogen atoms, form the silhouette of a running man - another easily recognizable image in the constellation Orion.
Giving birth to light
The Flame nebula (its other name is “Torch”) looks unusually beautiful. This is another place where new stars are constantly being born in the constellation Orion. In the pictures, it resembles a flaming bonfire: glowing clouds with dark splashes resemble flames. The “Torch” nebula is located near the sigma of Orion and is highlighted by it. The distance from us to this cradle of young stars is about a thousand light-years.
The constellation Orion, the description of which was given above, is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful celestial drawings. The bright stars that make it up allow the silhouette of the mythical hunter to be visible almost constantly. Thanks to them, once having calculated the location, the observer will never again wonder how to find the constellation Orion. For the amateur astronomer in this heavenly figure, it is also valuable that many of its elements are available for direct study with the naked eye. Other components, such as part of the Great Orion Nebula, can be observed using a small telescope or even binoculars.