Orion (constellation)

In this constellation there are two stars of zero magnitude , 5 stars of the second and 4 third magnitudes, and among the brightest stars there are variables . According to 2011 data, Orion ranks second among the constellations in the number of variable stars - there are 2,777 of them. The constellation is easy to find by the three blue-white stars depicting the Orion – Mintaka belt (δ Orion), which in Arabic means “belt”, Alnilam (ε Orion) - “pearl belt” and Alnitak (ζ Orion) - “sash”. They stand from each other at almost the same angular distance and are located in a line pointing with the southeast end to blue Sirius (in the Great Dog - from Alnitak side), and the northwest end to red Aldebaran (in Taurus ). The brightest stars: Rigel , Betelgeuse and Bellatrix . In Orion, the Great Orion Nebula, visible to the naked eye, is located.

The constellation has many hot stars of the early spectral classes O and B, which form a stellar association . The Orion constellation also contains many Orion variables . These include T Tauri type variables , forming three T-associations ^[1] in the constellation of Orion and fuors , the prototype of which is FU Orion .

Betelgeuse red supergiant (α Orion), arab. “Byte Al Jawza” means “The Hand of the Central” (a distorted form led to the spread of the interpretation “armpit”) - an irregular variable star whose brightness varies from 0.2 to 1.2 magnitudes and averages about 0.7 ^m . The distance to the star from the Earth is 650 light years , and the luminosity is 14,000 times greater than the sun . This is one of the largest stars known to astronomers: if it were placed instead of the Sun, then with a minimum size it would fill the orbit of Mars , and with a maximum it would reach the orbit of Jupiter . Betelgeuse’s volume is at least 160 million times that of the sun.

The crossbar is a bright near equatorial star, β Orion. White and blue supergiant . The name in Arabic means “foot” (meaning the foot of Orion). Has a visual magnitude of 0.12 ^m . The crossbar is located at a distance of 860 light years from the Sun. Its surface temperature is 12,130 K (spectral class B8I-a), its diameter is about 103 million km (that is, 74 times the size of the Sun), and the absolute magnitude is 7.84 ^m ; its luminosity is about 130,000 times higher than the sun, which means it is one of the most powerful stars in the Galaxy (in any case, the most powerful of the brightest stars in the sky, since Rigel is the closest of the stars with such a huge luminosity).

The ancient Egyptians associated Rigel with Sah , the king of stars and the patron saint of the dead, and later with Osiris .

The middle star in the Sword of Orion is θ Orion, a well-known multiple star system : its four bright components form a small quadrangle - the Trapezium of Orion . In addition, there are four more fainter stars. All of these stars are very young, they recently formed from interstellar gas in an invisible cloud that occupies the entire eastern part of the constellation. Only a small piece of this cloud, heated by young stars, is visible under the Orion Belt through a small telescope and even through binoculars like a greenish cloud; this is a very interesting object in the constellation - the Great Orion Nebula (M42), which is approximately 1,500 light-years distant from us and has a diameter of 20 light-years (15,000 times the diameter of the solar system ). It was the first nebula photographed by astronomers ( Henry Draper , 1880).

0.5 ° south of the eastern star of the Belt (ζ Orion) is the well-known dark Horsehead Nebula (B 33), which is clearly visible against the bright background of IC 434 .

Asterism A sheaf that determines the characteristic form of the constellation includes stars - α ( Betelgeuse ), β ( Rigel ), γ ( Bellatrix ), ζ ( Alnitak ), δ ( Mintaka ), κ ( Saif ). The alternative name for asterism is Butterfly .

Four asterisms are associated with parts of the traditional constellation pattern.

Orion belt - stars of Mintak, Alnilam and Alnitak (respectively, δ, ε and ζ of Orion). Also known as the Three Kings , Three Magi ( Magi ), Three Marys ^[2] , Rakes .

Orion Sword - Asterism, including two stars (θ and ι) and the Great Orion Nebula.

The shield of Orion is asterism, which is six stars located in an arc: π ¹ , π ² , π ³ , π ⁴ , π ⁵ and π ⁶ . The ancient name is Tortoise Shell .

Orion's Club - Asterism in the northern part of the constellation, including five stars χ ² , χ ¹ , ν, ξ and 69.

The next two asterisms contain, in fact, the same stars.

Mirror of Venus . Asterism The Orion belt, the star - the hilt of the Sword and the η Orion star form a diamond-shaped mirror, and the asterism of the Orion Sword acts as a mirror handle. Thus, asterism includes the stars η, δ, ε, ζ, θ and ι of Orion.

The New Asterism Pan came from Australia's astronomy enthusiasts . In the southern hemisphere of the Earth, celestial objects, in particular constellations, are visible in an inverted position, relative to their visibility in the northern hemisphere. Thus, the asterism of the Mirror of Venus turns upside down: its handle acts as the handle of the Pan, the other stars make up the Pan itself. Asterism includes the stars η, δ, ε, ζ, θ and ι of Orion.

In the middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere, the constellation can be seen in late summer (starting from mid-August), in autumn, winter and in the first half of spring (until mid-April), the best conditions for observations are in November - January, when the constellation is visible from its sunrise to its sunset. The constellation is visible throughout Russia . According to seasonal classification, it is considered autumn-winter.

In the arrangement of the stars of the constellation, the figure of a person is easily guessed. In ancient Egypt, the constellation Orion was called Sah and was revered as the embodiment of Osiris and the “king of the stars”; in the era of the New Kingdom, Orion Sah is portrayed floating on his boat to the stars ^[3] .

In ancient Babylon it was called "Faithful Shepherd of Heaven."

In the Jewish (and biblical - Amos. 5: 8 ) tradition, Orion corresponded to the constellation Kesil or Kesil ( Hebrew כסיל , literally - “fool”), whose origin has not yet been explained (possibly from the Jewish month of Kislev (coming in November) December), the name of which, in turn, comes from the Hebrew root of K-S-L, as in the words "kesel, sour" (כֵּסֶל, כִּסְלָה, hope), that is, hope for winter rains). The Bible Book of Job ( Job 38:31 ) mentions the stillness of Orion (Kesil) in the firmament and the “scattering” of the Pleiades (Khim): “Can you tie the knot of Khim and allow the bonds of Kesil?”

In ancient Greece , the constellation saw the great hunter Orion , according to Greek myth , the son of Poseidon and Euryale . Placed in heaven by father Poseidon after the death of Orion from the arrows of the goddess Artemis (according to another version of the myth - from the bite of Scorpio).

The constellation is included in the catalog of the starry sky of Claudius Ptolemy " Almagest ".

In ancient Russia, the constellation was called Kruzhiliya or Kolo ^{[4] [5]} .

In Armenia, the constellation of Orion is called Hayk in memory of the patriarch-ancestor of the Armenians, whose soul light, according to traditional beliefs, ascended and froze in heaven in the form of the constellation of the same name.

Among the Incas, the constellation was called Chakra ^[6] , while the belt of Orion among the inhabitants of the kingdom of Chimu, which was part of the Incan empire, was called Pata, that is, “ Captured ”, since it was believed that the Moon sent two extreme stars to capture the middle star, as a thief and a criminal, and they handed it to the Vultures , that is, four stars located lower and higher in the constellation ^[2] .

The popular names of Orion are often addressed not to the entire constellation, but only to its belt. This group of stars has the Russian names Koromysl, Koromyslitsa, Rake, Rake, Kichigi (kichiga - a curved stick for threshing), Snag. The Ukrainian names are Kosari, Kosi, Politsya, Chepigi (chepigi and policia are parts of the plow). Romanian names - Rake, Scythe, Sickle, Plow. Estonian names are Chains, Creek Stars, Series Stars, Spear Stars. Other names for these stars include Three Zebras (among the Hottentots), Three Deers (among the North American Indians), Three Horses and Three Maraluhs (among the Khakasses), Three Arkhars (among the Kazakhs), Three Sisters (among the Belarusians), Three Plows (among the Germans) ), Three Girls (among the Khakasses), Three Men (among the Eskimos), the Georgian name for the Sassari Belt, Armenian Ksherk and Kazakh Tarazi mean "scales." Also in the collection of Orion’s names are Churek (in the Caucasus), Boat (Oceania), Cross (near the Bashkirs), Table Leg (from the Udmurts), Shaitan Dog (from the Mordovians), Shepherd (from the Germans) ^[7] .

Orion, together with the Sun, Cassiopeia, Swan, Gemini, Pegasus and Pleiades are depicted on a ceramic vessel of the Vucedol culture found near the Croatian city of Vinkovci (3000-2600 BC) ^[8] .

• List of stars of the constellation Orion
• Orionides

•   Orion (constellation) : thematic media files on Wikimedia Commons
• WIKISKY.ORG: Orion
• Orion (neopr.) . Astromif Date of treatment March 24, 2013. Archived March 27, 2013.