The constellation of Orion is one of the most beautiful in the entire sky; and one that is easily recognized, too. Although from the southern hemisphere, the Hunter is upside down and that's a bit weird to see.
The brightest stars are:
- Betelgeuse (on the right shoulder), meaning "the hand of Orion" (Arabic) - is a supergiant red star. So massive in fact, that if this star were at the center of the Solar System, it would extend beyond the orbit of Jupiter. But at its current distance of 640 light years away, it's the ninth brightest star in the sky.
- Rigel (on the left foot) - is actually a triple star system, all of them shining in the blue-white spectrum. Rigel is the seventh brightest star in the sky.
- Bellatrix (left shoulder) and Saiph (right foot) complete the Hunter's body
- Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka create the asterism known as the "Orion's belt" - south of it is the sword - The Orion Nebula (M42). But M42 is the subject of another post.
For now, here is the Hunter rising above Valea Frumoasei, in the early hours of the morning of August 26th, 2014.
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| Orion, the Hunter, rising in Valea Frumoasei |
Technical data
- camera: Canon 450D
- lens: 18-55 mm at 25 mm
- mount: EQ 3.2
- exposure: 2 min (single shot)
- ISO: 1600
- date: Aug 26th, 2014
- location: Valea Frumoasei, Romania
