Orion Constellation: The Ultimate Guide

In ancient Egypt, Orion's constellation was considered a deity called Sah because Orion appeared in the sky before Sirius. This star was the basis of the Egyptians' solar calendar.

The god Sah was intimately related to the deity Sopdet, who personified the star, Sirius.

Later, Sah became associated with a more critical deity, the god Osiris. At the same time, Sopdet would be related to Osiris' mythological wife, Isis.

The story of the constellation "Orion" has its origin in ancient Greece. Orion was a mighty hunter, son of Poseidon and Euryale's sea god.

In the myth, Orion boasted of his extraordinary ability as a hunter. He swore to hunt all the animals on earth one day. The goddess Gaia did not like that the hunter made such claims, so in the act of uncontainable going sent a giant scorpion to kill Orion.

That is why in the sky, the constellation of Orion and the constellation Scorpius are never seen simultaneously.

In the story, it is related that Orion loses the battle against the Scorpion of Gaia. Ophiuchus, a friend of Orion, revives him with a potion. Hence, the constellation of Ophiuchus is located halfway between the constellation of Orion and the constellation of Scorpius since Ophiuchus defends Orion from the Scorpion.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the constellation of Orion acquired different names throughout the world depending on which hemisphere it was seen from.

Orion is much easier to locate by its three brightest stars (Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka). That is why many cultures identified this constellation only with those three stars.

Thus, in South Africa, it was known as "The Three Sisters," in Australia, it was named "The Three Kings." In some regions of America, it is called "The three wise men” since they associated the three stars with the story of the three wise men who went to deliver gifts when the baby Jesus was born.

Today many of the names used during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for the constellation of Orion are still commonly used in society.

Although in popular culture, the constellation is better known as "The Belt of Orion" rather than just Orion because it is still better known for its three brighter stars.

Officially for academic documents or books and journals, the constellation has the name of Orion since this is how the International Astronomical Union (IAU) establishes it.

Orion resides in the first quadrant of the Northern Hemisphere (NQ1), at latitudes between +85° and −75°, which means we can see the constellation in the night sky only exception being Antarctica.

Orion won't be visible from north Of Greenland, Northern Canada, Northern Alaska, or Northern Siberia.

Orion is visible in most North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.

Orion is visible from late October to early March and in both hemispheres, classified as a winter constellation in the northern hemisphere and a summer constellation in the southern hemisphere.

The best month to see the constellation Orion is in January. During the winter, Orion is visible after sunset.

Orion is one of the easiest constellations to locate because it has 2 of the ten brightest stars in the night sky.

You can start by locating the famous "Belt of Orion," the constellation's center, and the most prominent part.

From the north, Orion seems to be lying looking up. You will find it just below the constellation of Taurus and to the right of Gemini.

To locate the Belt of Orion, you can draw an imaginary line from the star Sirius upwards. You will meet the Belt of Orion.

Orion's belt is located right in the middle of the stars Betelgeuse and Rigel, the brightest and are at both ends of the constellation, so it will be easy to identify it.

The bordering constellations of Orion are Eridanus, Gemini, Lepus, Monoceros, and Taurus.

In addition, Orion is related to four constellations with which it shares history. These are Canis Major, Canis Minor, Lepus, and Monoceros.

The two brightest stars in Orion are Rigel (Beta Orionis) with a magnitude of 0.18 and Betelgeuse with an apparent magnitude of 0.43, the sixth and eighth brightest stars in the sky.

In addition, Orion encompasses variable stars that change their magnitude (brightness) during the year and the famous star asterism known as Orion's Belt.

The stars of Orion are:

The brightest star in the constellation of Orion with a magnitude of 0.18; is a star system made up of at least five stars, where the central star is a bluish-white supergiant.

The entire system is at a distance of at least 860 light-years.

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star, the second brightest star in the constellation of Orion is located 643 light-years away. Its mass is 20 times that of the sun. It is also much more significant, having a diameter of 905 million km.

One of the hottest stars that can be seen with the naked eye; compared to the sun, Bellatrix is four times hotter and nine times larger.

It is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion and is 240 light-years away.

Orion is also home to several deep-sky objects. Deep-sky objects are celestial bodies different from stars, such as nebulae (interstellar cloud bodies) or galaxies. In the case of Orion, it is rich in several stellar nebulae.

Orion's deep-sky objects are:

In the region that comprises the constellation of Orion, there are two meteor showers. The Orionids and the Chi Orionids are the most famous and visible.

The Orionid meteor shower takes place from October 2 to November 7and the maximum exposure date is October 21.

The body that originates this meteor shower is the famous Halley's Comet, which is also one of the largest and brightest of short period and is visible from the earth every 75 years approximately.

• Orion is one of the best-known constellations because its three central stars are associated with different stories worldwide; the best known is the story of the 3 Magi.
• There is another Greek myth story in which Orion falls in love with the seven sisters (The Pleiades). Upon learning of this, Zeus raises him to the heavens to stop harassing them, so Orion is seen chasing the Pleiades cluster.
• In Greek culture, Orion is drawn with his two hunting dogs, currently represented with the constellations of Canis Major and Canis Minor.
• There are different versions of the image of the Orion hunter, and sometimes he is placed fighting Taurus. Other times he is depicted hunting the hare Lepus.

Orion is associated with "The Hunter" due to Greek mythology. The hunter Orion was killed by the Scorpion commanded by Gaia and later saved by Ophiuchus.

Orion is a constellation that can be seen from every country in the world except Antarctica, and the best month to see it is in January.

The constellation of Orion is very easy to see and locate because it has the asterism of stars popularly known as "the belt of Orion."

Orion boasts two of the ten brightest stars in the Rigel sky with a magnitude of 0.18 and Betelgeuse with 0.46.

The most notable nebula within the borders of Orion is (IC 434), better known as the Horsehead Nebula.

The strongest meteor shower in Orion is the Orionids.

1. https://astrobackyard.com/orion-constellation/
2. https://earthsky.org/tonight/orion-rises-in-the-east-at-mid-evening/
3. https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/orion-constellation/
4. https://www.space.com/16659-constellation-orion.html
5. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/constellation-orion.html