Orion

Lindsay Boyden

Mythology
There are many different stories
surrounding the constellation
Orion. According to common
versions of Greek Mythology,
Orion was a giant with a
reputation for vanity. He claimed
to be the greatest hunter in the
world. In the end, he was killed
on the island of Delos when
Artemis sent a scorpion to
poison him.

Location
Orion is amongst the most simple constellations to recognize. He is placed on
the celestial equator and is easily seen from both hemispheres. Polar regions
are the only areas where an observer would fail to find him. In the Northern
Hemisphere he is visible from the southwest sky and in the Southern
Hemisphere from the northwestern sky. From mid-northern latitudes he
seems to be lying on his side while in the Southern Hemisphere Orion
appears to be standing on his head. This constellation can be seen from
November to February- rising around mid-evening.

Composition
Orion is composed of several
stars. His head is represented
by Meissa while Betelgeuse and
Bellatrix define his shoulders.
The iconic belt is embodied by
the three stars Alnitak, Alnilam,
and Mintaka. The Orion Nebula
is located at the center of the
sword hanging from his belt.
Saiph and Rigel are the bright
stars that create his knees.

Meissa
Meissa is a supergiant star that
is 1000 light years away from
Earth. This young star is 4,400
times brighter than our Sun and
25 times the mass. It is most
renowned for the Meissa Ring
which is made up of gas, dust
and other molecules.

Betelgeuse and Bellatrix

Betelgeuse is one of the
brightest stars that can be seen
from Earth and is the second
brightest star in the Orion
constellation. It is a red
supergiant that will one day
explode
in
a
massive
supernova. It does not pose a
threat to Earth as it is located
over 400 light years away. If it
were to explode it would be
visible during the day and would
equal the brightness emitted
from a Crescent Moon.

Bellatrix is the third brightest

star in Orion. This blue-white
giant is only 240 light years
away. It is similar to our Sun
although it has ten times the
mass. From Earth, Bellatrix
appears to be close to the other
stars in its constellation when in
reality it is much closer to Earth.

Alnitak and the

Horsehead
Nebula
Classified as a blue supergiant,
Alnitak is the fifth brightest star
in the constellation. This young
star is a mere six million years
old and will progress to a red
supergiant before becoming a
supernova. It makes up the left
end of Orions belt and is in
close
proximity
to
the
Horsehead
Nebula.
The
horses distinct outline leaves
little room to question the origin
of its name.

Alnilam
Alnilam is the central star of
Orions belt and the brightest
out of the three. As a general
rule, the larger the star the
shorter its lifespan is. So while
Alnilam is only four million years
old, it is still destined to explode
as a supernova relatively soon.

Mintaka
Mintaka is Arabic for the belt of
the Central One. In the early
1900s, the German astronomer
Johannes
Hartmanns
observations of Mintaka lead to
finding the gas of interstellar
space. He accomplished this by
detecting
absorption
of
Mintakas spectrum that could
not be attributed to itself and
surrounding stars.

Saiph and Rigel

Saiph is roughly the same
distance as Rigel but it appears
to be much dimmer. Saiph is
only the sixth brightest star in
the constellation while Rigel
takes first place. This is due to
the fact that Saiph has a higher
temperature
and
therefore
radiates mainly in the ultraviolet
spectrum.
Regardless,
astronomers are able to use its
light to study the interstellar
medium.

Rigel is a blue-white superstar

that makes up Orions left leg. It
is the brightest star in Orion and
is an astonishing 100,000 times
brighter than our Sun. This light
is able to illuminate neighboring
dust clouds- most notably the
Witch
Head
Nebula.
A
supernova explosion from this
star would appear about as
bright as one fourth of a full
moon.

The Orion
Nebula
This nebula resides only 1500
light years away and is about
30 light years across. As the
brightest spot on Orions sword
it can be seen with the naked
eye. It is speculated that as
many as one thousand baby
stars are contained within this
nebula.

Bibliography
http://www.greek-gods.info/greek-heroes/orion/
http://www.space.com/16659-constellation-orion.html
http://earthsky.org/tonight/orion-rises-in-the-east-at-mid-evening

http://www.gb.nrao.edu/~rmaddale/Education/OrionTourCenter/meissa.html
http://www.astrostudio.org/xhip.php?hip=26727
http://www.nasa.gov/