Finding Stars and Constellations: Orion

Orion is a constellation relatively easy to find due to the brightness of its stars and the "belt" feature. In the Northern Hemisphere, in January, it is almost always above the horizon. The reason for this is because the"belt" is located in the Celestial Equator of the Celestial Sphere.

The stars to find in Orion are:

Betelgeuse
Bellatrix
Rigel
Saiph
Alnitak (belt)
Alnilam (belt)
Mintaka (belt)

Orion is very useful because it serves as a reference point to locate stars and constellations

Previous Posts

Concepts in Astronomy #1. Introduction
Concepts in Astronomy #2. The Ecliptic
Concepts in Astronomy #3. The Celestial Equator
Concepts in Astronomy #4. Right Ascension
Concepts in Astronomy #5. Declination
Concepts in Astronomy #6. The Celestial Sphere
Concepts in Astronomy #7. Azimuth
Concepts in Astronomy #8. Altitude
Concepts in Astronomy #9. The Equatorial Coordinate System
Concepts in Astronomy #10. The Topocentric Coordinate System
Concepts in Astronomy #11. Equinox
Concepts in Astronomy #12. Solstice
Concepts in Astronomy #13. Rotation Period
Concepts in Astronomy #14. Orbital Period
Concepts in Astronomy #15. Axial Precession
Concepts in Astronomy #16. Axial Tilt
Concepts in Astronomy #17. Finding Planets, Stars and Constellations: Polaris
Concepts in Astronomy #18. Finding Planets, Stars and Constellations: Ursa Major and the Big Dipper

Credits

- Galaxy image obtained from Pixabay under CC0. No Copyright. The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law

- Orion Images © 2018 marcusantoniu26. All rights reserved. Created using Stellarium