It lies approximately 1,350 light-years from the Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 10. It is lit by a star inside it that is 20 times the mass of the Sun and could be as bright to our eyes as the other stars in Orion’s Belt. However, it is surrounded by a cloud of dust, which blocks the light and makes it appear 4 billion times dimmer than it actually is. This asterism, which is among the brightest and most prominent asterisms in the winter sky, is often used to find the Orion constellation.
Orion Stars
Scientists noticed that Betelgeuse was mysteriously dimming in late 2019 following a traumatic outburst caused by the star blowing off a large portion of its visible surface. Hubble observations have shown the Betelgeuse is slowly recovering from this event, and it looks like the star isn’t going to explode imminently. Even so, there’s a tiny chance Betelgeuse will go supernova in your lifetime. But don’t worry, Betelgeuse is about 550 light-years away, so this event wouldn’t be dangerous to us – but it would be a spectacular sight. Since Orion’s Belt asterism has been a major fixture in the night sky even in the past, people from around the world have given it different names and related it to their mythology and culture. Since Orion’s Belt is in the celestial equator, the three stars are easily seen from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
How to find Orion’s Belt
Like the Egyptian pyramids, they may have been built to mirror the shape of Orion’s Belt. The famous Terra Cotta Warriors were discovered in the same location. The region around Orion’s Belt is home to several bright and well-known deep sky objects. These objects are part of the larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, a vast star-forming region that stretches across most of the constellation Orion. A line extended from the Belt stars to the southeast leads to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Popularly known as the Dog Star, Sirius is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major and one of the nearest stars to the Sun.
- All three owe their luminosity to the presence of one or more blue supergiants.
- It is not just a single star, but actually five stars in a complex star system.
- They were probably all born around the same time and formed from the plasma clouds within the same sky region we now know as Orion’s belt.
- In either case, the complete system that we observe as Mintaka is about 1200 light-years away from us, and has been the guiding compass for ancient travelers for centuries.
- Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
- The primary star, Alnitak A is actually a blue supergiant of spectral type 09.7 lbe.
History and mythology of Orion’s Belt
The Orion correlation theory was put forward by Robert Bauval, and mentioned that Mintaka, the dimmest and most westerly of the stars making up Orion’s belt, was offset slightly from the others. Bauval then made a connection between the layout of the three main stars in Orion’s belt and the layout of the three main pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex. He published this idea in 1989 in the journal Discussions in Egyptology, volume 13. The easiest way to find Orion is to go outside on a clear night and look for three bright stars close together in an almost-straight line. Two brighter stars to the north mark his shoulders, and two more to the south represent his feet.
Earth
- Their distance to one another is another factor that makes them stand out among other stars.
- Like Betelgeuse, Rigel is much larger and heavier than our Sun.
- The famous Terra Cotta Warriors were discovered in the same location.
- Together, these deep-sky objects provide a wonderful opportunity for astrophotography with a wide-field telescope or telephoto camera lens.
- It looks like the middle ‘star’ of the sword to the naked eye, a little fuzzier than the stars above and below it.
- Constellations are stars arranged in the shape of an object, person or animal.
You can use the three bright stars in Orion’s Belt to help you find other noteworthy stars in the night sky. For example, by following a straight line in either Orion’s Bet direction of the belt stars, you will find Sirius on one side, and Aldebaran in Taurus on the other. Orion’s Belt is a helpful asterism for finding the constellation it is part of, Orion, but it is also useful for finding other major stars in the sky.
The famous three Marys of Orion’s Belt are also called Las Tres Marías in South America and Spain. The images of these three Marys are carried in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus held on Good Friday. A conjunction happens when two or more planets line up or come close together. Because of this, we can only see one bright object in the sky.
How to Find Orion’s Belt in the Night Sky
In the past, people who know a lot about astrology and the sky were considered men of importance. They were asked for advice, and are believed to know magic. The three men in the Christmas story were also called the Magi because of their great knowledge in following the star that led them to Jesus. We can locate the Orion Nebula or Messier 42 after finding Orion’s Belt. Under it are three dimmer stars that are part of another group called Orion’s sword. It stands out among the sword stars because of its reddish hue.
