Orion zoomed and his "illustration"

Event Date: July 21st
Time: 5:30 AM


Brief

   I will stick with Orion for this entry, following yesterday's morning intro for him, and show another zoom-in of the constellation's stick figure with two more dimmer stars labeled. In my previous entry, I featured Betelgeuse, a red-giant, and Rigel a very hot younger star.  The other two that are shown, as seen below with the constellation and dimmer stars making out the rest of his figure, are Bellatrix (Gamma Orionis) and Saiph (Kappa Orionis).

Detailed

  Bellatrix and Saiph mark Orion's left shoulder and right knee respectively. Betelgeuse marks his right shoulder and Rigel, his left foot.  As the following image shows with the illustration, we see how this is determined.  I placed it over the stick figure, and took away the star labels.

click on imags to enlarge: courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus, version 6.4.3, by Simulation Curriculum Corp.

Despite a recognizable stick figure resembling a person, the illustration is much more detailed: it shows his putting his shield up to Taurus the bull, charging towards him.  While more stars make up a club in his right hand, these "weapon" stars are 3rd and 4th magnitude.  They are much dimmer--and perhaps ignored--by most people viewing Orion in dark skies.  The belt is easy to see from almost anywhere without a Moon in the way, while Betelgeuse and Rigel and both brighter than those.