How many stars are there in Orion? Orion - constellation in the night sky
The constellation Orion is the most beautiful in the entire night sky. Has a 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 the wrong 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 most big stars that have just been 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 "leg" 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
IN small telescope can be easily seen . 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
One of the most famous star patterns that exist in the sky, along with the Big Dipper, the Southern Cross and the Great Summer Triangle. The belt is formed by three bright stars white- Alnitak (ζ Orion), Alnilam (ε Orion) and Mintaka (δ Orion). They are located in the center of the Orion constellation along one line and almost equally spaced from each other, forming the waist of a mighty hunter.
Orion constellation. Three bright stars in the center of the constellation form Orion's Belt. Drawing: Stellarium
Thus, Orion's Belt is not a separate constellation, but part of the Orion constellation. Astronomers call such expressive designs that are part of constellations, or that unite stars from different constellations. asterisms.
However, not all nations called the three stars a belt. The Chinese, for example, called the three stars of the Belt “Yoke of the Scales,” while the stars of the neighboring asterism Sword of Orion played the role of a suspended load. In ancient times, the Indians called the belt “Three-Jointed Arrow”, and in Finland it was the sword of the legendary Kalev, the hero of the epic “Kalevala”.
In 1807, at the height of the Napoleonic Wars, the University of Leipzig named the stars of Orion's Belt and Sword after the French emperor Napoleon. The British responded with a vengeance by naming the same drawing Nelson in honor of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson. Both names did not catch on and never appeared on sky maps.
Stars of Orion's Belt
The names of the belt stars are of Arabic origin. Alnitak, the lowest star in the asterism, is translated from Arabic as “belt” or “sash.” The name Mintaka comes from the word Al Mintakah and also means "belt". Alnilam means "string of pearls" in Arabic.
All three stars are very hot white stars of high luminosity. They are so hot that most of the light they emit is in the ultraviolet range, which is invisible to the eye. Each of them shines hundreds of thousands of times more intensely than our Sun.
The proximity of stars to each other in the sky does not mean that they are close in space. The distance to the stars Mintaka and Alnitak, indeed, is more or less the same and is 1200 light years, but Alnilam - the most distant and at the same time the brightest star of this trinity - is almost one and a half times further: the distance to it is estimated at 2000 light years.
Stars of Orion's Belt: Alnitak (bottom), Alnilam (middle), Mintaka (top right). Just below the star Alnitak the famous Horsehead Nebula is visible. Photo: Zoltan Panik
It's interesting to take a closer look at these three stars.
Two of the three stars in Orion's Belt are multiples. Alnitak- a triple star, that is, it consists of three stars connected to each other by forces of mutual attraction. Main star 20 times bigger than the sun in diameter, 33 times its mass and 250,000 times brighter than the Sun! It has a companion star that orbits it with a period of 2.7 days. The satellite is 14 times more massive than the Sun, 7.3 times its diameter and 32,000 times brighter than our native star. Finally, at a distance from this pair there is a third star. Its characteristics are very similar to the Alnitak satellite.
No less impressive characteristics of the components included in the system Mintaka. It consists of four stars. The main one, delta (δ) Orionis Aa1, emits 190,000 times more light than the Sun, is 24 times more massive and 16.5 times larger in diameter. Its first satellite, δ Orionis Aa2, is 16,000 times brighter than the Sun, 8.5 times more massive and 6.5 times larger in size. The third component of the system, δ Orionis Ab, occupies an intermediate position between the other two, and the fourth, the smallest, is “only” 3.3 thousand times brighter than the Sun!
Finally, the brightest (and most distant!) star in Orion's Belt, Alnilam, shines approximately 500,000 times more intensely than the Sun! It is 50 times more massive than it and 30 times its diameter! This is a true supergiant star, the “little brother” of the colossal star Deneb from the constellation Cygnus. Stars of this type are extremely rare in the Universe.
The table below summarizes some characteristics of the stars in Orion's Belt. The masses, radii and luminosities of stars are expressed in solar units. The surface temperature (T) is given in degrees Kelvin.
| Name | Designation | Dist. St. years | Component | Sound led | Weight | Radius | T(K) | Luminosity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alnilam | ε Orionis | ~2000 | 1,69 | 30 - 64,5 | 28,6 - 42 | 27000 | 389000 - 832000 | |
| Mintaka | δ Orionis | 1200 | δ Orionis Aa1 | 2,50 | 24 | 16,5 | 29500 | 190000 |
| δ Orionis Aa2 | 8,4 | 6,5 | 25600 | 16000 | ||||
| δ Orionis Ab | 3,90 | 22,5 | 10,4 | 28400 | 63000 | |||
| HD 36485 | 6,85 | ~9 | 5,7 | 18400 | 3300 | |||
| Alnitak | ζ Orionis | 1250 | ζ Orionis Aa | 2,08 | 33 | 20 | 28000 | 250000 |
| ζ Orion Ab | 4,28 | 14 | 7,3 | 28000 | 31600 | |||
| ζ Orion B | 4,01 | 16 | 7,2 | 29000 | 35000 |
Orion's belt in the starry sky
The constellation Orion is visible in the evenings in winter and in the first half of spring. This picture shows the constellation at its climax in the south, surrounded by others winter constellations. Drawing: Stellarium
In Russia and neighboring countries, Orion's Belt is clearly visible in the evenings from November to April. In autumn and early winter, Orion's Belt (like the constellation Orion itself) is located in the east in the evening, in January-February in the south, and in March and April it tends to the horizon in the west. In the period from May to July, Orion's Belt is not visible, and starting from mid-August it appears in the morning sky, in September and October it rises at night, and finally, in November, the period of evening visibility of the asterism (and the entire constellation Orion) begins.
As with the entire constellation of Orion, there are many nebulae within Orion's Belt. Therefore on detailed maps Orion's belt looks very picturesque.
Orion's belt on a detailed map.
Countless stars sparkle in the night sky. They are collected in various constellations. Many of them cannot be seen in the sky with the naked eye, but they are known to us thanks to astrology. Others can be seen in various places on the planet. So, the constellation Orion shines brightly at night above European part continent of Eurasia.
Myths and legends
Orion is a constellation with which many stories, myths and legends are associated. Each nation interpreted the appearance of this constellation in the sky in its own way, therefore the names in all parts of the world where it could be seen were different. The Greeks associated it with the gods, in Egypt this constellation was called the King of the Stars, in Armenia it is named after the great man - the patriarch-ancestor of the Armenians Hayk. Many peoples did not connect all the stars of Orion into one scheme, but named only his belt as Three Sisters, Three Women, Three Men, Three Plows and so on.
But not only in ancient times was this constellation associated different stories. Many modern people awaiting arrival extraterrestrial civilizations precisely from Orion's belt. This is due, in particular, to the fact that some of its stars surpass the Sun itself in size and luminosity. Look at the constellation Orion. Photos from different angles can be seen in this article. Perhaps you too will get the impression that there are other civilizations out there somewhere.
Ancient Greek myth
According to myths and legends Ancient Greece, Orion was the son of the god of the seas and oceans Poseidon and one of the Gorgon sisters, whose name was Euryale. When he grew up, he went to travel and in one of the cities he saw and fell in love beautiful princess Merope, daughter of King Oinopion. Orion went to the king and began to ask for the hand of his beautiful daughter. But, despite the external beauty and glory of the great hunter, he was refused. The king did not want to part with his beloved daughter. Orion decided to take the princess by force, but, having learned about this, Oinopion grabbed and blinded the beautiful young man, after which he threw him onto the seashore.
With the help of an oracle, which told Orion how to become healthy again, the young man regained his sight. He wanted to take revenge on the king for what he had done and went in search of him. But during his travels he met the beautiful Artemis and fell in love with her. The goddess of the hunt reciprocated his feelings. And everything would have been fine, only Orion loved to boast that he was the best hunter and that such a master in this matter could not be found anywhere.
The goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus, disliked the beautiful young man and sent a scorpion to kill Orion with its poisonous bite. Artemis grieved for a long time, and then sent her lover to heaven. Since then, Orion has been a constellation that pleased the goddess with its beauty every night. In response, Hera placed the constellation Scorpio on the opposite side of the sky. And these two constellations never rise at the same time.
Legend of the Pleiades
Once upon a time, there lived in heaven seven sisters who loved to play and have fun. One day, carried away by one of their pastimes, they sank too close to the ground and were unable to return home. The sisters became sad, they missed the heavenly heights. And they began to figure out how to return. We approached the tree and asked for help. They told how they longed for their home, how happy and shining they were there. The tree took pity and began to grow until the top touched the sky.
There were seven young men left on earth who passionately fell in love with the heavenly girls. They yearned for their loved ones and constantly looked at the heavens. The tree took pity on them and lifted the young men to heaven, where they turned into the constellation Orion. Since then, seven beautiful girls and their boys have been inseparable. And every clear night, looking up at the starry sky, you can see the constellation Orion near the Pleiades.
Egyptian pyramids
Orion is a constellation that is considered a reference point for the construction of the Egyptian pyramids of Giza. It's hard not to find similarities between these three largest architectural structures in Egypt and the stars in Orion's belt. Continuing to consider the celestial bodies that are part of this constellation, one can find other similarities with the famous Egyptian architectural complex. Temples, small pyramids and other significant buildings are located at the same distance from the pyramids as the rest of the stars of Orion from the belt.
A large number of coincidences makes it clear that the skill of the civilization that created such buildings was in many ways superior modern technologies. Focusing on the constellation Orion, the diagram of which was created by astronomers already at that time, the ancient Egyptians erected structures exactly according to their location celestial bodies, as if projecting them onto the ground.
Orion Stars
The bright multi-colored stars of the Orion constellation create a beautiful pattern in the sky. Each of them has its own name, size and meaning.
The alpha of this constellation is Betelgeuse, which glows orange-red. Her name means "shoulder (arm) of a giant." This star is considered irregular, since it shines variablely and pulsates periodically. Betelgeuse's mass is 15 times the mass of the Sun, and its diameter is approximately 700 times greater than the Sun's.
The beta of this constellation is Rigel, which in Arabic means "giant's foot." The brightest and most large star, its luminosity is 130,000 times greater than the sun. It has a soft blue color and is also variable. The ancient Egyptians considered this star to be the god Osiris.
The star Belatrix has a diameter 3 times greater than the Sun. It is blue in color and ranks 27th in brightness.
And the last of the brightest stars is named Saif.
Orion's Belt
Three stars form Orion's belt. They are called Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. Many peoples considered these three stars to be the main ones and assigned them various legends and names.
Mintaka are four luminous objects located in space in such a way that from Earth they appear to be a single whole.
The next star in the belt is Alnilam. From Arabic this name translates as “string of pearls.” Being a supergiant and being 2 times farther from the Sun than other stars, it shines as brightly as the rest of the celestial bodies in the galaxy.
Alnitak also consists of several luminous celestial bodies, which from Earth look like one.
Orion Nebula
The nebula can be observed where the stars of the constellation Orion form the “sword” of a warrior or hunter. Because ionized plasma emits light and forms a cloud, it is visible very brightly from Earth. Its size is approximately 33 light years. The shape of the nebula is arcuate, and the center, due to the characteristic arrangement of stars, is called Trapezium.
This unique spectacle can be observed in winter, since finding the constellation Orion at this time is not difficult. The nebula can be seen with the naked eye. But if you have a telescope at hand, then there will be much more impressions and pleasant emotions.
Constellation location
The constellation Orion is located on the celestial sphere in the northern hemisphere. In its brightness and beauty it is second only to Ursa Major. To easily determine where the constellation Orion is located, you need to look at the sky in the autumn or winter months. It is during this period that it can be clearly seen on the southern side of the sky.
You can easily find many astrological signs by looking at the starry sky. The constellation Orion is often used as a reference point when searching for the constellations Gemini and Taurus. But that's not all. In the constellation itself, on a clear night you can easily see up to 100 stars.
Neighboring constellations
Having determined where the constellation Orion is located, at its extreme points you can find Canis Major and Canis Minor, Unicorn, Hare, Leo, as well as such zodiac signs as Gemini and Taurus.
The constellation Gemini is located north of Orion and is located between the stars Leo and Taurus. The Greater and Lesser Dogs are, as it were, behind the hunter’s back. If you draw an image of a person using the outline created by the stars, then the hare is at the feet. Since it is very easy to find the constellation Orion on clear sky, by looking closely and using it as a guide, you can easily find other clusters of celestial bodies.
The constellation Orion in the modern world
The constellation Orion, a photo of which can be seen in the planetarium, various books and textbooks, is often depicted in paintings and frescoes. Many creative people, fascinated by its secrets and legends, are inspired to create some masterpiece. Artists Don Peterson, Jeremy Bergland, Chad Ingle and Erich Remash were no exception. They created an installation called Starlight. It consists of the seven main stars of Orion and is located in such a way that when looking at it from a bird's eye view, you get the impression that you are looking at the sky.
This piece of art was presented at the annual art exhibition called Burning Man. It is located in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada.
Orion is a mysterious constellation and all the more attractive because it can always be found in the sky. For novice astronomers, there is no better reference point than this cluster of celestial bodies. But before moving on to other objects, it is worth carefully studying this constellation and the stories and legends associated with it, plunging into the world of mysteries and discovering the endless flow of information associated with the ancient hunter.
The belt in the constellation Orion includes three stars. This constellation is located on the equator and is visible throughout Russia.
Stars Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka
In ancient times, not only travelers, but also ancient temples in ancient civilizations were guided by these stars, and the pyramids on the Giza plateau to this day are a copy of the location of the celestial bodies on Earth.
The lowest star, of the three, is the star, translated from Arabic as “cloth belt” or “sash”. It is the first brightest class O star, located at a distance of 825 light years from Earth. Alnitak is a blue supergiant and is a triple star system. Weight main star Alnitak A is 28 solar, and the radius is 20 times greater than that of the Sun. This blue giant has a spectral class of O9.7 and a surface temperature of 33,500 Kelvin. The two blue satellites of the main star have brightnesses of 4 and 10, respectively. The luminosity of Alnikak is 35 thousand times higher than our Sun. The companion of the main star Alnitak B is classified as class O9.5. It circles Alnitak A every 1510 years. Alnitak B also has a satellite. Recently (in 1998) Alnitak C, 10th magnitude, was also discovered.
Alnilam
Alnilam star, image from the DSS catalog