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Orion the Hunter
Orion is one of the most recognizable constellations in the sky. The stars of the “belt” facilitate this by forming a conspicuous line of three stars. In fact, some archaeoastronomers think the Great Pyramids of Giza owe their configuration to this pattern.
The belt stars are particularly useful as pointer stars—by extending their line to the east, the bright star Sirius can be easily located. The star Betelguese is a luminous red supergiant, 520 light years away, found at Orion’s right shoulder. By contrast, Rigel, a blue-white star, sits at the foot of the hunter, about 900 light-years away. On clear nights, Orion’s shield is seen outstretched from the star Bellatrix (near the left shoulder). The Orion Nebula can be found near the belt and is widely considered the most dazzling of all the deep sky objects.
Using a telescope, find the Orion Nebula—a cloud of ionized gas. Try to locate a grouping of four stars deep within the nebula called the Trapezium. Be sure to observe the nebula on different nights as seeing conditions will vary. Try making a sketch of the nebula each night to compare details.
The Orion Nebula
