Orion constellation
Latin Orion, genitive Orionis, abbreviation Ori
North up, east to the left, as you see the sky. The lines are a common figure; the stars are from the catalogue.
The myth
The great hunter who boasted he could kill any animal on Earth; the Earth sent a scorpion that killed him. Since then the two are never in the sky together: when the Scorpion rises, Orion sets. Look for red Betelgeuse at his shoulder, blue Rigel at his foot and the three belt stars. Below them hangs the sword with the Orion Nebula, a cradle of new stars, visible to the naked eye as a smudge.
When can Orion be seen?
It stands highest around 10 pm in January. It can be seen from everywhere north of 73°S.
The brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigel | β Ori | 0.12 | bluish |
| Betelgeuse | α Ori | 0.50 | reddish |
| Bellatrix | γ Ori | 1.64 | bluish |
| Alnilam | ε Ori | 1.70 | bluish |
| Alnitak | ζ Ori | 2.05 | bluish |
| Saiph | κ Ori | 2.06 | bluish |
| Mintaka | δ Ori | 2.23 | bluish |
| Hatysa | ι Ori | 2.77 | bluish |
The smaller the number, the brighter: below 1 are the brightest stars of the sky, 4 is hard to see under a city sky. Greek letters after Johann Bayer (1603).
Meteors
The Orionids radiate from Orion: when they fall and how to see them.