On clear winter nights, I often look up in the night sky and spot one of the most beloved and recognizable constellations, Orion. It was always one of my favorites as a child, and easily one of the most interesting to explore as an adult in the astronomy world. This will be the first in a series of posts that will introduce you and your kids to the most famous constellations. It will teach you how to spot them in the night sky, some interesting facts about and pictures of the constellation, as well as some of the folklore behind the constellation. Enjoy!
Back Story - Legend and Mythology
Orion is most commonly referred to as "The Hunter" due to its corresponding Greek mythological tale. Stories of this constellation can be found in the legend or mythology of many cultures, Greek, Hungarian, Indian, Native American, Aboriginal Australian, Scandinavian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Chinese, just to name a few. Each of these stories emphasizes important ideals in their respective cultures.
According to Greek myth, Orion, led a tragic life that ended when he stepped on a scorpion, known as Scorpius. The gods felt sorry for him so they put him and his faithful dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, into the sky as constellations. The gods surrounded Orion with celestial animals for him to hunt; Lepus, the rabbit, and Taurus, the bull. The gods placed Scorpius on the opposite side of the sky so he could never hurt Orion again. Orion was also in love with Merope, one of the seven sisters known as Pleiades, however Merope didn't want anything to do with Orion. The gods placed Orion into the sky forever chasing the Pleiades, but never reaching them.
In Yokut Native American folklore, the three bright stars of Orion's belt were three footprints of the god of the flea people. According to legend, the god of the flea people jumped into the sky three times in order to find the flea people. When the god jumped into the sky, the flea people would be scared away and go into hiding (i.e., dormant). This was one way that that particular tribe explained why you could see Orion during the winter when the fleas weren't biting, but not during the summer when they were.
In Navajo history, Orion was a marker in the sky for when to plant their crops. They called Orion, the First Slim One or the First Slender One, and knew to plant their crops when Orion set at dusk, which is in May. Interweaving their calendar with their myths allowed them to easily remember which stars represented specific seasons.
Finding Orion in the Night Sky
- In the Northern Hemisphere, Orion's Belt is best visible in the night sky during the month of January at around 9:00 pm, when it is approximately around the local meridian.
- If you are in the northern hemisphere, look to the south southeast. If you are in the southern hemisphere, look to the north.
- Find Orion's belt, three stars in a short straight line.
- Look for Orion's knee, a bright star called Rigel, to the lower right of the belt.
- Look for his shoulder, an orange-red star called Betelgeuse, to the upper left of the belt.
- Scan the sky farther away to the lower left of the belt. Here's the brightest star in the sky: the Dog Star, Sirius.
Interesting Notes About Orion
- The far right star of Orion's belt (δ Ori) is actually a double star system, where the stars orbit each other about every 6 days.
- Hanging down from Orion's belt is his sword, made up of three fainter stars. The middle of these stars is not a star at all. It is the Orion nebula (M42), one of the most famous and most studied objects in the night sky. (On a personal note, in the time I was at the Space Telescope Science Institute, STScI, I worked on the team that processed the beautiful image below.)
- Near the Orion nebula is the Horsehead Nebula (B33 or IC434), which is a collection of dark star forming dust in front of a much brighter part of the nebula.
- Rigel is the 7th brightest star in the night sky. Betelgeuse is the 12th brightest star in the night sky. Betelgeuse was originally misclassified as a brighter star, before it was determined to be a variable star.
- Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star. It is close enough to us and so large, that it is the only star that astronomers are able to resolve its disk. It is important to note that Betelgeuse is in the end of its life span, and will explode in a Type II supernova within the next million years. Because Betelgeuse is between 497 and 789 lightyears away from Earth, Betelgeuse may have already become a supernova centuries ago; if so, the light is still in transit. Due to its location in the Orion constellation, Betelgeuse is sometimes referred to as the "armpit" star.
- Around October 21 each year the Orionid meteor shower reaches its peak. Coming from the border with the constellation Gemini as many as 20 meteors per hour can be seen.
- Due to precession of the earth's axis, by the year 14,000AD Orion will fall below the equatorial plane and become invisible to higher latitudes, i.e. Great Britain.
