The constellation Orion is the most beautiful in the entire night sky. It contains very bright stars. By connecting these stars and turning on your imagination, you can easily overlook the figure of the hunter. The figure from the southeastern side points to the blue giant (in the constellation Canis Major). From the north-west side it indicates radiant red (in the constellation Taurus). It covers an area of approximately 594 square degrees in the sky. Easily recognizable in the night sky due to its bright outlines.
The constellation Orion can be easily seen in late summer, autumn and winter. It is observed until mid-April. It is observed throughout Russia and is considered autumn-winter.
If you look closely at the constellation on a moonless and cloudless night, you can easily count 200 stars. Among them are objects that create the outline of Orion. These are very bright stars of zero magnitude. Five stars from the outline are of second magnitude and four are of third magnitude. Among these stars there are variables, nebulae, hot stellar associations, and asterisms. The two brightest stars in the constellation Orion are Rigel and Betelgeuse.
Stars
- red supergiant. In Arabic, Betelgeuse means "armpit". This is an invalid variable. Its brightness ranges from 0.2 to 1.2. On average, the brightness of this giant is 0.7 magnitudes. The distance from us to this monster is 430 light years. It shines 14,000 times brighter than our star.
Betelgeuse is one of the largest stars ever discovered. If Betelgeuse were placed instead of our Sun, it would occupy the distance to Mars at its minimum. At maximum, the surface of this star would be approximately in the orbit of Jupiter. Its volume exceeds the volume of our Sun by about 160 times!
- is a blue-white supergiant. The name "Rigel" means "foot" in Arabic. It has almost zero magnitude. It is located at a distance of 770 from us. The surface of this giant has a temperature of 11,200 K. The diameter of Rigel is 68 times the diameter of our Sun and is 95 million kilometers. This is the most powerful star closest to us. Rigel, the ancient Egyptians associated it with Sakh. Sakh is the king of the stars and the patron of the dead.
Star systems
It is worth paying attention to the multiple star system θ Orionis, which is located in Sword. It outlines the Trapezium of Orion. Consists of four elements.
Video composition of several photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Nebulae
You can easily see it with a small telescope. It is the very first nebula that astronomers photographed.
3D Animation of the Orion Nebula
All images below were obtained using various filters and ranges, as well as many hours of exposure.
- a nebula that has a silhouette that is very similar to the head of a horse.
Asterisms
Orion includes the following asterisms: Butterfly, Magus, Belt, Sword, Shield, Club, Mirror of Venus, Pan. These asterisms are tightly intertwined with each other. In fact, the entire constellation is one large set of asterisms.
Story
Stars have long attracted humanity with their beauty, mystery and mystery. In religions different nations they were given special significance, believing that their location could influence a person’s fate; heroes of myths and legends also found refuge in the starry sky. One of the most famous constellations in the night sky is Orion - a beautiful constellation that is located south of the equator, in the southern part of the sky. The ancient Egyptians gave it the name “king of the stars”, and considered the constellation the home of the god Osiris. It is easy to recognize by its asterism. Orion's belt is three bright stars, which, as if being on the same straight line, adorn the clothes of the giant hunter.
The legend that is reflected in the night sky is contradictory. According to one version, Orion, a brave hunter, pursued the Pleiades sisters. To stop him, she sent Scorpio, who inflicted a fatal bite on the hunter. After his death, Orion was placed in heaven by his father Poseidon. According to another version, Orion is chasing along with his hunting Big Dog behind the Hare, and this episode is captured in the drawing of the stars. This is the legend describing Orion's belt, confirmation of which can be seen in the outlines of the constellation.
It is one of the most noticeable in the night sky, due to the fact that it combines many bright stars. Five of them are stars of the second magnitude, four are of the third magnitude, and two are of the first magnitude (the blue-white Rigel and the red Betelgeuse). Both Rigel and Betelgeuse are supergiants. Rigel is thirty-three times larger in diameter than our sun. It is located at a distance of more than five hundred light years from us, and the light of the star that we see now was emitted by it back at the time when Columbus discovered America.
Another bright star included in Orion’s belt is Betelgeuse, whose name is translated from ancient Arabic as “giant’s shoulder.” This star is four hundred times larger in diameter than the sun. There is a star near Rigel that appears cloudy and blurry. Around it you can see a foggy spot through a telescope. It is a cloud of glowing gas. It could make ten thousand stars, just like our sun. The nebula is located at a distance of one thousand three hundred light years. There is another nebula in the constellation Orion. It is called “Horse Head” because the gas and dust cloud is similar in outline to the head of a stallion.
It’s not for nothing that the constellation Orion’s Belt is considered the most beautiful in the starry sky. As Orion rises above the horizon, seven bright stars can be seen forming a hexagon. These are Pollux, Capella, Sirius, Procyon, Aldebaran and Rigel. Bright Betelgeuse stands out in the middle of the constellation. seen in the outlines of the stars the hunter Orion armed with a club. The three bright stars included in Orion's belt have Arabic names. These are Alnilam - “pearl belt”, Mintaka - “belt” and Alnitak - “sash”. The constellation Orion is also notable for the fact that below and to the right there is an area in which there are no bright stars, and it is the opposite of the bright belt of Orion. Here are the constellations whose names are associated with water: the Eridanus River and Aquarius.
The best time when Orion's belt is especially visible in the sky is the winter months - December and January. You can observe the constellation throughout Russia.
« Constellation Orion considered one of the most beautiful constellations in the sky. Characteristic outline Constellation Orion, formed by bright stars, can be seen south of the constellation Gemini and Taurus. Distance to Constellation Orion is approximately 500 light years. Major stars Constellation Orion: red supergiant Betelgeuse and blue-white supergiant Rigel.”
Myths of Orion
Orion is a very old constellation, which was known back in Mesopotamia. Three thousand years later, during the heyday of Greek culture, legends arose about it, like other constellations. Greek mythology. The constellation personified the hero Orion, the son of the sea god Poseidon and the nymph Euryale. Orion was one of the most revered Greek heroes. When he walked along the bottom of the sea, his head protruded above the water. He was known for his extensive knowledge of the stars, which he learned from Atlas and through hunting.Life Orion was full of adventures, especially related to women. His life path and death in myths are described in different ways. However, many myths say that Orion died due to the envy of the goddess of the hunt, Artemis. According to legend, the goddess herself killed him with an arrow; according to another, he was killed at the request of Artemis her brother Apollo. Another legend says that Orion died from the bite of a giant scorpion, which the goddess Gaia released from a cave. Therefore, supposedly Orion hiding in the sky from Scorpio - it sets when the constellation Scorpio appears above the horizon.
The god of medicine Asclepius tried to resurrect Orion, however, Zeus himself stopped him. Together with his dog Sirius, Orion ended up in heaven as a reward for his love of the stars, but another legend says that he ended up there because of an eternal longing for the Pleiades, the daughters of Atlas. One thing is certain: like a constellation, Orion with his hunting retinue - the Great and Small Dog and the Hare - live in the sky for centuries.
Orion Stars
List of Orion Stars: Rigel The brightest star in the constellation and the seventh (not counting the Sun) brightest star in the sky. Rigel's diameter is 74 times greater than the diameter of the Sun, and its luminosity is 130,000 times greater than the Sun's. This blue-white supergiant is located 860 light-years from our Sun. The Rigel system is generally believed to consist of three stars; a fourth star is sometimes assumed, but this assumption may be erroneous due to the variability of the main star, which can be caused by physical pulsations of its surface. Betelgeuse A red supergiant with a luminosity 100,000 times greater than the average luminosity of the Sun. The diameter of Betelgeuse during pulsations ranges from 500 to 1000 solar diameters, however, the mass of this red star is only 13-17 times that of the Sun, while the volume of Betelgeuse is 250-300 million times that of the Sun. The brightness also varies over 2070 days (it is the ninth brightest star in the night sky). This semi-regular variable star is located at an average distance of 570 light years from us. Betelgeuse is part of the so-called winter triangle, which in addition to it is formed by the stars Procyon with Canis Minor and Sirius with Canis Major. Bellatrix The blue-white giant is one of the brightest stars in the night sky and is known as the “star of the Amazons,” representing the “warrior woman.” This is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion, which was also one of the navigational stars of antiquity. Being one of the hottest stars in the sky with a surface temperature of 21,500 K and having a luminosity exceeding the Sun by about 4,000 times, the radius of Bellatrix is only about 6 times greater than the radius of the Sun, and its mass is 8-9 times greater than the Sun.
Mintaka- a variable hot star with a high surface temperature visible in the night sky with the naked eye. The brightness of this blue supergiant changes over a period of 5.37 days. It is located in Orion's belt and is approximately 900 light years away from us. The main component of the system is a spectroscopic binary star, consisting of two blue-white giants, each of which is on average 80,000 times brighter than our Sun and 20 times heavier. The name means "belt" in Arabic. Alnilam The central star in Orion's belt. It belongs to the blue supergiants. It is one of the three stars in Orion's belt. The name has Arabic roots and means “string of pearls”. Alnitak The third star of Orion's belt, which is a triple star and is located at a distance of about 800 light years from us. The blue supergiant, which is the main star of the system, has two blue-white satellites, one of which - Alnitak B itself is also a double giant star. Orion's trapezoid Discovered by the famous Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, it is a cluster of large numbers of stars inside the Orion Nebula. The four brightest stars form a trapezoid and are spaced at approximately the same distance. The motion of stars in this system is very complex and unstable. If they were not held by gravity, they would break up into individual stars within 100,000-1,000,000 years. The stars move away from each other for a while and then come closer again. It turns out that the entire system seems to be constantly pulsating all the time. Orion's trapezoid is approximately 1,300 light years away from us. Saif Meaning "giant's sword" in Arabic, this blue supergiant is one of the hottest stars in the constellation Orion. Located more than 600 light-years away, this star has a temperature of about 26,000 K and a luminosity almost 60,000 times greater than that of our Sun. Meissa or Heck or Lambda Orionis a double star classified as a blue giant, the second component of which is itself a double star. The original Arabic name of the star means " White spot"We are separated from this star by a distance of approximately 1,100 light years. Orionids The meteor shower is located in the northeastern part of the constellation and is formed from a swarm of meteorite bodies. The earth passes through it twice every year. In the fall we consider it as the Orionids, in the spring as the Aquarius in Aquarius. The Orionids have a five-day peak around October 21, with an average of about 25 meteors passing per hour. The largest number of meteorites – 50 per hour – was recorded in 1936. Great Orion Nebula (M 42, NGC 1976) A gas-dust nebula located at a distance of about 1300 light years from us. It is one of the most famous and interesting deep space objects. Nebulae are one of the most important objects in the starry sky for gaining knowledge about the formation and evolution of stars. It already includes objects with very low temperatures, emitting most of their energy in the infrared part of the spectrum.
Orion and the Egyptian pyramids
In 1994, Robert Bauval, in his book The Orion Mystery, outlined the theory that the Fourth Dynasty pyramids were built as an earthly reflection of the constellation Orion. Egyptian god Osiris was identified with the constellation Orion. Probably because of this, cemeteries were built in a number of pyramids corresponding to the position of the stars of the constellation.
Bauval and Hancock, through computer calculations, established that the location and size of the three main Egyptian pyramids, namely Cheops, Khafre and Mikerin, coincide with the three stars that form Orion's belt. According to researchers, this means that although the construction of the pyramids was completed around 2500 B.C. However, the plan for the entire complex was built long before this.
Around 10,500 BC Orion passed through the lowest position. At that time, the Earth was warming, the last ice age was ending. The climate in Egypt has become dry. Today, the five remaining intact pyramids are an earthly replica of the constellation, and the famous Pyramids of Giza are a perfect reflection of the three stars of Orion's belt. The two pyramids at Dashur, built by Sneferu (Khufu's father) are part of the map of the sky. Bauvel claims that they are stars of the constellation Taurus, Aldebaran and e-Taurus. Even during the Fifth Dynasty, fewer pyramids were built.
This earthly reflection of the sky to allow the Pharaoh to cross into afterlife Osiris. It can be assumed that the pyramids were truly an expression of the faith of the entire society, and not the whim of one ruler. Funeral ceremonies held inside the Great Pyramid carried the souls of the pharaohs to the afterlife, and the same pharaoh's pyramid served not one, but many generations of Egyptians.
Orion among the Chinese
Chinese astronomers knew Orion as Shen - a great hunter or warrior. This is one of the rare cases where a constellation has been visualized almost identically to Europa. Shen was at the center of a great celestial hunting scene, for the full moon is in this part of the sky during the hunting season, in November and December.
The main body of Shen consists of 10 stars: four that make up traditional scheme Orion (alpha, beta, gamma and kappa), three belt stars and three sword stars. The sword stars had a dual identity as they also formed a subconstellation, Fa. In keeping with Shen's identity as a master warrior, the 10 stars were the generals of his army.
The triangle of stars that form the head of Orion (Lambda, Phi 1 and Phi 2) was known as Zoo - the beak of a turtle or bird - perhaps a falcon for hunting. Zuy is also the name of the 20th lunar house, the narrowest of all houses (barely 2° wide). Since it is close to the 21st house, Shen.
As one of the oldest Chinese constellations, Shen has accumulated many different and conflicting identities over the centuries.
Orion in Mesoamerica
Despite the fame of the Egyptian pyramids at Giza, Central America actually has more such structures than the rest of the planet. Civilizations such as the Olmecs, Mayans, and Aztecs all built pyramids to house their gods, as well as the funerals of kings.
In many of their great city-states, the pyramid temple formed the center public life, and was a place of sacred ritual, including human sacrifice.
Most famous pyramids are the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon in Teotihuacan, the Castillo in Chichen Itza, the Great Pyramid in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, etc.
Orion among the Hopi
From time immemorial, the Hopi Indian tribes believed that the gods flew to Earth from constellation Orion, and they live on the star Pi-3, which is located 26 light years from our planet, which is not that far, scientists say. Hopi shamans, portraying gods, still dress in the costume of Kachina - a creature or spirit that flew to Earth from the Blue Star. The shaman cannot take off his mask in front of children - the Indians believe that if this happens, the faith of the tribe will die, and no one will save the world.
The area where the Hopi live is called the Four Corners, because the borders of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado meet at a 90° angle here. Nevada is adjacent to them. Archaeologists report that the same type of people live in the Hopi cult village of Oraibi as they did 5,000 years ago.
A traditional Hopi hut has no windows, and residents climb onto the roofs of their shacks to see what's going on around them.
Indian legends say that after a natural disaster, “high and revered initiates” from Toonaottekha came to them from the sky. It was them who the Hopi nicknamed Kachina. The Kachin taught local residents how to process metal and introduced them to the basics of medicine and astronomy. Local tribes depict kachinas in the form of dolls.
Dogon, Egyptians, Mayans worshiped the gods from this constellation. This can be seen from the location of the pyramids of the Moon, the Sun and the temple of the Mayan god; they are oriented towards Orion’s belt.(Greek Ὠρίων) - equatorial constellation. In this constellation there are two stars of zero magnitude, 5 stars of second and 4 of third magnitude, and among the brightest stars there are variables. The constellation is easy to spot by its three blue-white stars depicting Orion's belt - Mintaka(δ), which means “belt” in Arabic, Alnilam(ε) - “pearl belt” and Alnitak(ζ) - “sash”. They are spaced from each other at the same angular distance and are located in a line pointing with the southeastern end to the blue Sirius(in), and the northwestern end - to red Aldebaran(V ). The brightest stars: Rigel, Betelgeuse And Bellatrix. B is located visible to the naked eye. The constellation contains many hot stars of early spectral types O and B, which form a stellar association.
click on the image to enlarge it
| Lat. Name | Orion (genus Orionis) |
|---|---|
| Reduction | Ori |
| Symbol | |
| Right ascension | from 4 h 37 m to 6 h 18 m |
| Declension | from -11° to +22° 50’ |
| Square | 594 sq. degrees (26th place) |
| Brightest stars (value< 3 m) |
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| Meteor showers |
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| Neighboring constellations | |
| The constellation is visible at latitudes from +79° to -67°. The best time for observation is January. |
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Betelgeuse
Red supergiant Betelgeuse(α Orionis), which means “armpit” in Arabic, is an irregular variable star whose brightness varies from 0.2 to 1.2 magnitude and averages about 0.7m. The distance to the star from Earth is 430 light years, and its luminosity is 14,000 times greater than that of the Sun. This is one of the largest stars known to astronomers: if it were placed instead Sun, then with a minimum size it would fill the orbit of Mars, and with a maximum size it would reach the orbit Jupiter. Volume Betelgeuse at least 160 million times more solar.
Rigel
Blue-white supergiant Rigel(β), which means "foot" in Arabic, has a visual magnitude of 0.18. Rigel is located more than 770 light years away from Sun. Its surface temperature is 11,200 K (class B8I-a), its diameter is about 95 million km (that is, 68 times larger Sun) and the absolute magnitude is −6.69; its luminosity is 40,600 times higher than the Sun, which means it is one of the most powerful stars in Galaxy(in any case, the most powerful of the brightest stars in the sky, since Rigel- the closest star with such enormous luminosity). The ancient Egyptians tied Rigel With Sakhom- king of the stars and patron of the dead, and later - with Osiris.
The constellation is included in the catalog starry sky « Almagest».
MYTHOLOGY
In ancient Greek mythology, a famous hunter, distinguished by his extraordinary beauty and such height that he was sometimes called a giant. Son of Poseidon and the nymph Euryale, grandson of Kronos and Rhea, husband of Merope. Another version of the hero’s birth tells that Zeus and Hermes visited Hyrieus, a resident of Thebes. When he, after sacrificing a bull and treating the gods, began to complain about childlessness, the guests demanded the skin of the victim. When the owner brought the skin, they filled it with urine and ordered it to be buried in the ground. After some time, a boy emerged from it, receiving the name Urion, which gradually changed to “for the sake of euphony.”
After he stole Merope and married her against the will of her father, who deceived her, he was blinded by him. Restored his vision by traveling to the place of sunrise Helios, in which one of the students served as his guide Hephaestus which he carried on his shoulders. exposed his blind eyes to the rays of the sun god, and Helios restored his sight. There he was noticed by the goddess Eos and became her lover.
Was a companion Artemis by hunting, according to some variants - he could or claimed to become the beloved of the goddess. Was hit by an arrow Artemis for defeating her in a hunt, or for violating her virginity, or out of jealousy at the instigation of Apollo, the brother of the goddess, who feared for her honor.
According to another version of death, he was bitten by a monstrous scorpion sent Gay or Poseidon, while being pursued by him. Perhaps he was trying to resurrect him Asclepius but was killed by lightning Zeus. After death, he was turned into the constellation of the same name (according to some versions of the myth - together with his dog, turned into a star Sirius or constellation; in myths involving Asclepius he was also turned into a constellation -).
Source: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(constellation)
The constellation Orion is one of the most beautiful in the night sky. Many people have known it since childhood: it is difficult to ignore it, since the most noticeable stars and celestial objects in the constellation Orion are visible from Earth with the naked eye. These include luminaries that are superior to the Sun in a number of parameters, and the beautiful Great Nebula M42. The two bright stars in the constellation Orion, Rigel and Betelgeuse, are very easy to find in the sky. They make it easier to detect the remaining elements of the constellation.
Description
Orion is an ancient mythical character, a skilled hunter, comrade-in-arms and lover of Artemis. Legends and myths about the constellation Orion say that it appeared in the sky at the behest of an inconsolable goddess who killed a hunter as a result of the cunning of her jealous brother Apollo. Artemis vowed to remember her lover forever and placed him in heaven.
It is very easy to guess the silhouette of a hunter in the arrangement of elements. He froze in the sky with a raised club, a sword on his belt and a shield in his hand. The constellation details represent known asterisms. The sheaf forms a characteristic figure. formed by three clearly visible stars located on the same straight line. Just below is the asterism Sword of Orion, which includes two stars and between them a blurry speck of the M42 nebula. The belt with the southeastern end of the line points to Sirius, and the northwestern end to Aldebaran.
Every bright star in the constellation Orion is impressive. The constellations surrounding it lose in beauty precisely because of the lack of such large number elements impressive in their luminosity.
Palm of the Championship
Against the backdrop of all this splendor, a pair of giants especially stands out. The historical names of the two bright stars in the constellation Orion are Rigel and Betelgeuse. Their scientific designations are Beta and Alpha Orionis, respectively. Both giants, as already mentioned, are clearly visible from Earth. We can say that they are vying for the title of the first star in this celestial pattern. Betelgeuse is designated Alpha, but Rigel is slightly brighter.
The names of two bright stars in the constellation Orion are of Arabic origin. Rigel means “leg” and Betelgeuse means “armpit”. The names of the stars thus give a rough idea of where the stars are located. Alpha Orion was located on the hunter's right armpit, and Beta was located on his leg.
Red supergiant
In many ways, Betelgeuse can be considered the most significant luminary in Orion. This is a red supergiant, classified as a semi-regular variable star: its brightness varies from 0.2 to 1.2 magnitude. In this case, the lower limit of luminosity exceeds the level of this parameter in the Sun by eighty thousand times. The distance separating the star and the Earth is estimated on average to be 570 light years (the exact value of the parameter is unknown).
The scale of Betelgeuse can be understood by comparing it with the size of the orbits of the planets solar system. Minimum size stars, if placed in the place of our star, would cover the entire space up to the orbit of Mars. The maximum would correspond to the orbit of Jupiter. Betelgeuse's mass is 13-17 times greater than that of the Sun.
Study problems
Alpha Orionis is 300 million times larger in volume than the Sun. Its exact diameter is difficult to measure, since its brightness slowly decreases as it moves away from the center of the star. It is generally accepted that if the distance to Betelgeuse is taken to be 650 light years, then the value of its diameter varies from 500 to 800 corresponding parameters of our star.
Betelgeuse is the first luminary after the Sun for which a disk image was obtained using a space telescope. The image captured the ultraviolet atmosphere of a star with a bright spot in the center. Its dimensions exceed several tens of times the diameter of the earth. The temperature of this area is significantly higher than on the rest of the surface of the cosmic body. The origin of the stain is still unknown. It is believed that it is the result of a new physical phenomenon affecting the star’s atmosphere.
Orion's foot
Rigel is the brightest star in the constellation Orion. The constellations Hare and Eridanus, adjacent to the celestial image of the mythical hunter, are often identified in the sky by their close location to Rigel. Beta Orionis, due to its brightness, serves as a guide for observers.
Rigel is a blue-white supergiant with a visual magnitude of 0.12. The distance to the star from the Sun is approximately 860. The radius of Beta Orionis is inferior to that of Betelgeuse. Moreover, Rigel’s luminosity is 130 thousand times greater than that of our star. In this parameter, it is also ahead of Alpha Orion.
Like Betelgeuse, Rigel is a variable star. It is characterized by an irregular cycle of changes in its value from 0.3 to 0.03 with a period of approximately 24 days. Rigel is traditionally considered triple. Sometimes it is credited with having a fourth component. However, indisputable evidence of its existence has not yet been obtained.
Neighbor
The Witch's Head Nebula is associated with Beta Orionis. In its shape, it really is very similar to the head of a witch in a pointed hat. It is a reflection nebula, glowing due to its proximity to Rigel. In the photographs, the Witch's Head has a bluish tint, since particles of cosmic dust in the nebula reflect blue light better, and Rigel itself emits mainly in the blue part of the spectrum.
Evolution
The two bright stars in the constellation Orion will not always be like this. The internal processes of both will sooner or later lead to fuel burnout and, possibly, an explosion - their impressive size is not conducive to long-term existence. However, they will definitely be enough for our time. According to forecasts, Betelgeuse will shine for at least another two thousand years. Then collapse and explosion await her. At the same time, its brightness will become comparable to the light of half or even full moon. In another scenario, Betelgeuse will “quietly” turn into a white dwarf. In any case, at the end of the process, for an earthly observer, Orion’s shoulder will go out.
Rigel also faces the fate of shining in the sky for a short time with an explosion of enormous power. According to assumptions, his fury will be comparable to a quarter of the Moon.
Other luminaries
The two bright stars in the constellation Orion are not the only clearly visible objects in this celestial pattern. The hunter's belt consists of three luminaries clearly visible from the Earth. These are Mintaka (Delta Orion), Alnitak (Zeta) and Alnilam (Epsilon). On the hunter's left shoulder is Bellatrix (Gamma Orionis), the third brightest point in the constellation. Its luminosity exceeds that of the sun by 4 thousand times. Among stars visible to the naked eye, Bellatrix stands out for its significant surface heating. Its temperature is estimated at 21,500º K.
Nebulae and black hole
Two more bright stars in the constellation Orion are located just below the Belt and belong to the Sword of the Hunter. These are Theta and Iota of Orion. A third object is noticeable between them, which, unknowingly, can also be classified as a star. However, this is the Great Orion Nebula, which appears as a small blur from Earth. New luminaries are constantly being born here. This is also where the largest mass, 100 times greater than the Sun, is supposedly located.
No less famous than M42 are the Torch and Horsehead nebulae, also located in the constellation Orion. The first one really looks like flames rising above a fire, which is why it got its name. The Horsehead Nebula also lives up to its name in shape. The silhouette of a horse is clearly visible in the photographs. It seems as if she is about to jump further. refers to reflection nebulae: by itself it does not emit light. The opportunity to admire it is provided by the nebula IC 434, which serves as the background. It illuminates its dark neighbor.
Numerous telescope images often show the constellation Orion. Interesting objects: stars, nebulae, clouds of gas and cosmic dust - amaze with their beauty in photographs. However, even from Earth, the hunter’s silhouette seems no less impressive. Such an abundance of bright objects visible to the naked eye is perhaps not typical for any other celestial images.
Those who want to see all the beauties that the mythical hunter hides can use numerous astronomy resources that allow them to study, among other things, the constellation Orion: “Astrogalaxy”, Google Sky, Google Earth service.
