Orion returns
Rising above the eastern horizon, a couple of hours after nightfall, is a constellation familiar to both casual and devoted stargazers – Orion, the hunter. During the winter months it is well placed in the southern sky giving us a chance to explore its celestial bounty.
Orion’s position on the Celestial Equator makes its prominent hourglass pattern of stars visible from most parts of the world. Many cultures created stories about this conspicuous constellation.
In ancient Egypt, Orion was linked with Osiris god of death and the underworld. Some have claimed that the layout of the pyramids at Giza is an earthbound mirror image of Orion’s belt stars. According to Chinese tradition, the belt stars are associated with the White Tiger of the West. In Finland, sky watchers link Orion with the scythe of potent and magical figure Väinämöinen because the constellation returns to the night sky during autumn harvest. Star lore from France, South Africa and Holland share a common name for the belt stars – the three kings.
One version of a story from Greek mythology portrays Orion as having an affair with Artemis, goddess of the Moon. Angered by this relationship her twin, Apollo, sent a giant scorpion to kill Orion. Orion managed to beat the scorpion. But during the struggle he was stung and fatally wounded. Distraught by the loss of her lover, Artemis appealed to Zeus for help. The king of the gods took pity on Orion’s fate and cast him into the heavens to live forever. Apollo protested Zeus’ favorable treatment of a mortal. So, to make things even and with a mind to avoid future conflict, Zeus took care to cast the scorpion into the opposite side of the heavens. This arrangement explains why we never see the constellations Orion and Scorpius sharing the night sky.
The brightest stars of Orion are about 400 to 800 light years distant, but its most famous object is the Great Nebula found in the dagger stars below the belt. To the unaided eye, they appear to be three dim points of light. A closer look through a small telescope or binoculars at the middle star will reveal its true nature as a hazy patch of light. This region is the closest stellar nursery to our solar system. A recent distance estimate places it at 1,300 light years away. The nebula is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, a giant collection of interstellar gas and dust that fuels star formation and hosts a variety of other kinds of nebulae like the Horsehead Nebula.
Orion will be a constant and steady presence as it crosses the southern night sky from now into early May. You can use its brightest stars to find your way to other constellations including Taurus, the bull and Orion’s hunting dogs Canis Major and Canis Minor. Click on the image below for a larger version of the chart.
