Orion, the Hunter
Orion is one of the most beautiful of all constellations, and one of the easiest to find. It looks like a large rectangle high in winter's south-southeastern sky.
Two of the brightest stars in the evening sky lie at opposite corners of the rectangle: bright red Betelgeuse at the northeastern corner and even brighter Rigel at the southwest.
Near the center of the rectangle, look for a short diagonal line of three stars Orion's belt. And extending south from the belt, you'll see another, fainter line of stars that forms Orion's sword.
One of the objects in Orion's sword isn't a star at all. It's a nebula a cloud of gas and dust that's like a giant fluorescent bulb. Hot young stars inside the nebula pump energy into its gas, causing the gas to glow.
|