O R I O N

I'm Orion, the constellation often referred to as The Hunter, i'm a prominent constellation, perhaps the best-known and most conspicuous in the sky. My brilliant stars are found on the celestial equator and are visible throughout the world, making me universally recognized. I am clearly visible from October through March in both hemispheres.In Greek mythology, there are many differing tales about me. Hyrieus, son of Poseidon and Alcyone, one of the Pleiades, once received his father, who came, together with Zeus and Hermes, to see him. On the occasion, Hyrieus, who was a very rich man but nevertheless childless, asked his visitors to let him have children. The gods then, urinated in the hide of a sacrificed bull, buried it in the earth, and from it I, Orion, was born. In time I grew tall as a giant, and was granted by Poseidon the power of striding across the sea.Some say, that I wished to marry Merope, the daughter of King Oenopion of Chios, son of Ariadne, but her father, disliked the idea. King Oenopion made me very drunk with wine, then blinded me, taking my eyes as I slept and then casting me on a beach. Others affirm, however, that I came to Chios, and having drunk heavily, raped the girl, being this the reason why I was blinded, and expelled from the island, which is off the coast of Ionia in Asia Minor. Apparently, I then came to Lemnos, where Hephaestus gave me his servant Cedalion to serve as my guide. I set him on my shoulders, and bade him lead me to the sunrise, when we arrived I was healed by the sun's rays. Yet others swear that I regained my sight when an oracle told me to look into the sun at dawn. When I saw Aurora the goddess of dawn, we both fell in love, Love at first sight can happen!More tales tell, that I believed myself to be the best of all hunters, and once boasted that I was able to kill anything the earth produced. It was then that Gaia (Earth), angered at this boast, sent the scorpion that killed me.Still others affirm that I was killed as punishment for challenging Artemis to a match of quoits, or shot by her for raping Opis, one of the maidens who had come from the Hyperboreans. Others have believed that I died because the gods, jealous because I was the lover of Eos, let Artemis kill me. The Greek myths continue, I was seen by Odysseus in the Underworld where I had the same occupation as when I was alive on earth:"... I marked huge Orion driving together over the Plain of Asphodel wild beasts which himself had slain on the lonely hills, and in his hands he held a club all of bronze, ever unbroken ..." [Odysseus. Homer, Odyssey 11.542]Yet I may be considered immortal for being among the stars where I was placed by Artemis, who mourned me. When you see me in the nights sky, i'm standing next to the river Eridanus with my two hunting dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, fighting Taurus the bull. Other prey of mine, such as Lepus the hare, can be found nearby. I was in love with Merope, one of the Seven Sisters who form the Pleiades, but Merope would have nothing to do with me. My tragic life ended, when I stepped on Scorpius, the scorpion. The gods felt sorry for me, so they put me and my dogs up high, in the sky as constellations. They also put all of the animals I hunted up there near me. Scorpius, however, was placed on the opposite side of the sky so I would never be hurt by it again. In order to honor me and protect me from my enemy I rise in the east as my enemy, the Scorpion sets in the West. Orion is never seen at the same time as the Scorpion.In Australia, the belt and sword of Orion are sometimes called the Saucepan, because the stars of Orion's belt and sword resemble this kitchen utensil as seen from the southern hemisphere. Orion's Belt is called "The Three Kings" (or "The Magi") in some places and, in South America, it is known as "Las Tres Marias" (The Three Marys), in honor of Mary of Nazareth, Mary Magdalene, and Mary of Bethany, three major New Testament figures.I'm extremely rich in bright stars and in deep-sky objects. Here are some of my stars:Meissa is Orion's head. Betelgeuse, at my right shoulder, is a red star with a diameter larger than the orbit of Venus. The name of this star means "The Armpit of the Central One" in Arabic. Although, it is somewhat fainter than Rigel. Betelgeuse is actually a sextuple star (other studies say it has only two companions, and the existence of any companion at all is disputed), but its companions are too small to be easily seen. It forms a point of the Winter Triangle. Bellatrix, or "warrior woman", is at my left shoulder. Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka make up the asterism known as Orion's Belt: three bright stars in a row; even from these alone one can recognize me. Eta Orionis, is between Delta Orionis and Rigel. Saiph is at my right knee. Rigel, at the my left knee, is a large blue-white star, among the brightest in the sky. It has three companions, also difficult to see. Hatsya is at the tip of my heavenly sword. The major stars of Orion are all very similar in age and physical characteristics, suggesting that they may have a common origin. Betelgeuse is the single exception to this.Orion is very useful in locating other stars. By extending the line of the Belt southeastward, Sirius can be found; northwestward, Aldebaran. A line eastward across the two shoulders indicates the direction of Procyon. A line from Rigel through Betelgeuse points to Castor and Pollux. Additionally, Betelgeuse forms part of the Winter Triangle, and Rigel is part of the Winter Circle. Sirius and Procyon, which may be located from Orion by tracing lines, also are points in both the Triangle and the Circle.Hanging from my stylish, totally 'Bling' belt is my sword, consisting of the multiple stars ?1 and ?2 Orionis, called Trapezium and the nearby Orion Nebula (M42). This is a spectacular object which can be clearly identified with the naked eye as something other than a star; using a pair of binoculars, its swirling clouds of nascent stars, luminous gas, and dust can be observed.Another famous nebula located below my belt is IC 434, the fantastic Horsehead Nebula. It contains a dark dust cloud whose shape gives the nebula its name.Besides these nebulae, surveying me with a small telescope will reveal a wealth of interesting deep sky objects, including Barnard's Loop, M43, M78 and the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024).All of these nebulae are part of the larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex which is located approximately 1,500 light years away and is hundreds of light years across. It is one of the most intense regions of stellar formation visible in our galaxy.

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