Orion Constellation

The Orion constellation depicts Orion the Hunter (northern latitudes from November through February).  Noted in many cultures, primarily because of the distinctive 3-star "belt" he wears, and the line of stars forming a sword-like pattern.

Finding the Orion Constellation

Right ascension: 5h

Declination: +5 degrees

(NQ1) and can be seen at latitudes between +85° and -75°

We generally find Orion by first seeing his belt, made up of three bright stars.  The three pyramids of Giza are a representation of these three stars.

After seeing Orion's belt, you can piece out the rest of Orion, including the brightest star there, Rigel, at Orion's foot and Betelgeuse at Orion’s' opposing shoulder.  The stars Saiph and Bellatrix make up Orion's other foot and his other shoulder.

Follow Orion's arms out from his shoulders to see his indestructible club and a cluster of stars which form his shield (or lion's skin, depending on account).

Lastly, if you look just below Orion's belt, you'll see a feature called Orion's Sword - three stars and the Orion Nebula which contains a stellar nursery, growing multiple young stars.  

The light we see from the Orion Nebula is approximately 1300 years old meaning, when we look at this nebula, we are actually seeing how these stars looked at 721AD - before the time of Charlemagne and the first Viking raids upon Europe.

Mythology of Orion Constellation

There are several stories about Orion's life and even a couple different stories of his death and how his constellation was added to the night sky.  My favorites pull in other constellations around Orion, as part of his story.  

Stories tell of how Orion - a great and very handsome hunter - led a most tragic life.  He once became obsessed with a princess and walked on the water (because his father, Poseidon taught him how) to her island home and made unwelcome advances to her.  Her father, the king, found out about this aggression and blinded Orion.  

Hephaestus, the smith god, sent a servant to guide Orion to the Sun, which would heal him, giving Orion his sight back.  

Another story tells of Orion journeying to Crete to hunt with Artemis and her mother.  During their hunt, Orion bragged that he would hunt and kill all the creatures of Earth.  Gaia, the earth mother, heard his boast and sent a giant scorpion who attacked and killed Orion.  Artemis and her mother, Leto, were distressed by this news and asked Zeus to add Orion to the sky's constellations, which he did, along with the scorpion that killed him, Scorpius.

Another account of Orion's death involves him swimming in the sea, in an attempt to flee the giant scorpion sent to kill him.  Apollo tells Artemis that one of her own had been attacked and that the perpetrator was escaping by sea.  Artemis rushed to the sea, where Apollo pointed out the tip of Orion's head as he swam in the distance.  Artemis shot flawlessly, unaware that she was killing Orion.  When she found that Orion had been killed. Artemis grieved deeply, tried unsuccessfully to bring Orion back to life, and then had Orion placed amongst the stars.

The constellations of Canis Major and Canis Minor are right beside Orion in the sky.  They are his hunting dogs, and you can read more about them *here*.  Orion is also placed so that he is chasing *the Pleiades* - a star cluster depicting the seven sisters which included Merope, one of Orion's love interests.

There are many tales of Orion from various cultures, as well as many variants of those tales. 

Notable Features of Orion

Betelgeuse - the second brightest star of the Orion constellation and the higher of Orion's shoulders.  When its life ends in approximately 100,000 years, the resulting supernova will be so bright it will be highly visible on Earth, even during the daytime.

Rigel - Orion's brightest star, it serves as Orion's right foot, or knee.  It has an apparent magnitude of 0.18.  Rigel is actually a star system comprised of three stars.