|
| |
Ori
|
| |
Orionis
|
| |
Orion
|
| |
5
|
| |
5
|
| |
594
|
| |
26th
|
| |
8
|
| |
Rigel (&beta Orionis)
|
| |
012
|
| |
"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Chi_Orionids" class="copylinks">Chi Orionids
|
| |
"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Monoceros" class="copylinks">Monoceros
|
| |
85
|
| |
75
|
| |
January
|
, a
Constellation often referred to as ''The
Hunt er'', is a prominent constellation, perhaps the best-known in the sky. Its brilliant stars are found on the
Celestial Equator and are visible throughout the world, making this constellation universally recognized.
Orion is standing next to the river
Eridanus with his two hunting dogs
Canis Major and
Canis Minor , fighting
Taurus the bull. Other prey of his, such as
Lepus the
Hare , can be found nearby.
In
Australia , the belt and sword of Orion are sometimes called the
Saucepan , because the stars of Orion's belt and sword resemble this kitchen utensil as seen from the southern hemisphere. Orion's Belt is called "The Three Kings" (or "The Magi") in some places and, in South America, it is known as "Las Tres Marias" or "As Três Marias" (The Three Marys), in honor of
Mary Of Nazareth ,
Mary Magdalene , and
Mary Of Bethany , three major
New Testament figures.
The constellation is extremely rich in bright
Star s and in
Deep-sky Object s. Here are some of its stars:
- λ Ori (Meissa) is Orion's head.
- α Ori ( Betelgeuse ), at its right shoulder, is a Red Star , larger than the orbit of Venus . Although it is the α-star, it is somewhat fainter than Rigel. Betelgeuse is actually a sextuple star (other studies say it has only two companions, and the existence of any companion at all is disputed), but its companions are too small to be easily seen. It forms a Point of the Winter Triangle .
- γ Ori (Bellatrix), "warrior woman", is at Orion's left shoulder.
- ζ Ori (Alnitak), ε Ori (Alnilam) and δ Ori (Mintaka) make up the Asterism known as Orion's Belt: three bright stars in a row; even from these alone one can recognize Orion.
- η Ori (Eta Orionis), between Delta Orionis and Rigel .
- κ Ori (Saiph) is at Orion's right knee.
- β Ori ( Rigel ), at the constellation's left knee, is a large blue-white star, among the brightest in the sky. It has three companions, also difficult to see.
- ι Ori (Hatsya) is at the tip of Orion's sword.
The major stars of Orion are all very similar in age and physical characteristics, suggesting that they may have a common origin. Betelgeuse is the single exception to this.
Orion is very useful in locating other stars. By extending the line of the Belt southeastward,
Sirius (α CMa) can be found; northwestward,
Aldebaran (α Tau). A line eastward across the two shoulders indicates the direction of
Procyon (α CMi). A line from Rigel through Betelgeuse points to
Castor and
Pollux (α Gem and β Gem). Additionally, Betelgeuse forms part of the
Winter Triangle , and Rigel is part of the
Winter Circle . Sirius and Procyon, which may be located from Orion by tracing lines, also are points in both the Triangle and the Circle.
Hanging from Orion's belt is his sword, consisting of the multiple stars θ1 and θ2 Orionis, called
Trapezium and the nearby
Orion Nebula (M42). This is a spectacular object which can be clearly identified with the naked eye as something other than a star; using a pair of binoculars, its swirling clouds of nascent stars, luminous gas, and dust can be observed.
Another famous nebula is IC 434, the
Horsehead Nebula , near ζ Orionis. It contains a dark dust cloud whose shape gives the nebula its name.
Besides these nebulae, surveying Orion with a small
Telescope will reveal a wealth of interesting deep sky objects, including
Barnard's Loop ,
M43 ,
M78 and the
Flame Nebula (NGC 2024).
All of these nebulae are part of the larger
Orion Molecular Cloud Complex which is located approximately 1,500 light years away and is hundreds of light years across. It is one of the most intense regions of stellar formation visible in our galaxy.
The configurations of the constellation Orion roughly formed about 1.5 million years ago, because of relative slow movements of stars within the constellation from earth's perspective (especially the belt of Orion), constellation Orion will remain visible in the night sky for the next 1 to 2 millions years, making the constellation one of the longest observable constellation parallel to the rise of human civilization.
(result generated from
SkyChart III ).
Being such a brilliant pattern of stars, Orion was recognized by many ancient civilizations, though with different images.
The ancient
Sumer ians saw this star pattern as a sheep, while in
Ancient China , Orion was one of the 28
Zodiac signs ''Xiu'' (宿). Known as ''Shen'' (參), literally meaning "three", it is believed to be named so for the three stars located in Orion's belt. (See
Chinese Constellation )
The stars were associated with
Osiris , the god of death and underworld, by the
Ancient Egyptian s. The
Giza Pyramid Complex , which consists of the
Great Pyramid Of Giza , the
Pyramid Of Khafre and the
Pyramid Of Menkaure , is said to be a sky-map of the Belt of Orion, that is, of Osiris.
The "belt and sword" of Orion are frequently referred to in ancient and modern literature, and even found recognition as the shoulder
Insignia of the
27th Infantry Division of the
United States Army during both World Wars, probably because the division's first commander was Major General
John F. ''O'Ryan'' .
's
Uranometria , courtesy of the
US Naval Observatory Library]]
''Main article:
Orion (mythology) ''
It is not very surprising to see such a prominent constellation to have more than one version of a story surrounding it in
Greek Mythology .
In one version,
Artemis , the goddess of hunt and the moon fell in love with him and stopped doing her job of illuminating the sky at night. Her twin brother Apollo, seeing Orion swimming on the sea, dared his sister to strike what only appeared to be a spot on the waves. Not knowing it was Orion, Artemis shot an arrow and killed him. Later, when she found out what she did, she placed his body among the stars. The grief she felt explains why the moon looks so sad at night.
It may be that the naming of the constellation precedes the mythology in this case. It has been suggested that Orion is named from the
Akkadia n
Uru-anna , the light of heaven, the name then passing into Greek mythology. As such, the myth surrounding Orion may derive simply from the relative positions of the constellations around it in the sky.
In some depictions, Orion appears to be composed of three bodies, having three arms
{Link without Title} , two divergent legs, and a small central one, as well as the three bodies being bound at the waist. As such, together with other features of the area in the
Zodiac sign of
Gemini (i.e. the
Milky Way , the deserted area now considered as the constellations
Camelopardalis and
Lynx , and the constellations
Gemini ,
Auriga , and
Canis Major ), this may be the origin of the myth of the cattle of
Geryon , which forms one of
The Twelve Labours of
Herakles .
In
Finnish Mythology the constellation of Orion is called the scythe of
Väinämöinen . The term most likely comes from the fact it can be seen in the sky in early autumn, the time of haymaking.
The constellation is mentioned in
Horace 's ''
Ode s'',
Homer 's ''
Odyssey '' and ''
Iliad '', and
Virgil 's ''
Aeneid ''.
The constellation of Orion also appears in
Milton 's ''
Paradise Lost '', and
Tennyson 's ''Locksley Hall'', "Great Orion sloping slowly to the west".
The 5:8
:
Orion
:Nici o corabie nu s-a întors vreodata
:Din marile sudului sau de la capricorn
:Atât de pura si eleganta fregata,
:Cum se intoarce toamna Orion.
:Peste paduri inverzite n-a stralucit nicicând
:Lumina lui alba. Nici pe pajisti de fin.
:Oceane si munti il vad primavara plecând
:si cerul nu-si mai afla multa vreme stapân.
:Octombrie urca din nou peste gradini
:inaltele-i catarge cu vârfuri de platina
:si toata iarna, apoi, corabia de lumina
:Deasupra lumii uimite se clatina.
:Rege al constelatiilor din septentrion
:Mereu lunecând peste lumi inghetate
:Asa strabate noaptea marele Orion,
:Corabie leganata în eternitate.
- Orion was one of four constellations depicted in a )
- Orion is a protector in Jimmy Buffett 's book ''The Jolly Mon''.
- Orion was the name given to the Aurora-class crusier that the Atlantis crew commandeered late in the second season of .
- Orion was the name of the cat in the movie Men In Black .
- In the Star Trek fictional universe, Orion is home to a civilization of green-skin humanoids that practice a slave trade using their women.
- The ''Sword of Orion'' is the name of a composition of music by composer Vangelis on his 1976 album, '' Albedo 0.39 ''.
- "The Arms of Orion" is the name of the song from the Batman Soundtrack (1989) performed by Prince and Sheena Easton. Additionally, it is a band from West Chester , Pennsylvania .
- "Orion" is also the name of an instrumental composition by heavy metal band Metallica , on the album '' Master Of Puppets ''.
: < منكب ''mankib'' shoulder
- ( 24/γ Ori ) 1.64
: < ''bellātrix'' The (female) warrior/amazon
- ( 41/θ1 Ori ) – multiple star 4.98, 5.13, 6.71, 7.96
: < ''trapezium'' < τραπέζιον
- ( 53/κ Ori ) 2.07
: < سيف ''saif'' sword
- ( 39/λ Ori ) – double 3.39, 5.61 or '''Heka'''
: < ? ''al-maisan'' The shining one
: < ? ''al-haq'ah'' The white spot
- ( 1/π3 Ori ) 3.19 '' or '''''Hassaleh''''' – nearby
: < الثابت ''aθ-θābit'' The endurer (fixed/constant one)
