{"id":38241,"date":"2022-11-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=38241"},"modified":"2022-11-25T12:39:38","modified_gmt":"2022-11-25T12:39:38","slug":"explainer-a-beginners-tour-of-orion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/2022\/11\/11\/explainer-a-beginners-tour-of-orion\/","title":{"rendered":"Explainer: A beginner\u2019s tour of Orion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The fundamentals of astronomy for beginners <\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXPLAINER<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

A beginner\u2019s tour of Orion<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Katrin Raynor <\/strong>reveals the stunning sights anyone can enjoy in this winter constellation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Orion is full of amazing gems for beginners to find, from naked-eye stars to fainter telescope targets <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Winter is the best time of year for newcomers to astronomy. It gets darker earlier, the atmosphere is clearer and some of the best constellations are visible in the night sky. Within these constellations you can see deep-sky objects such as galaxies, star clusters and nebulae. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orion is one such constellation. It\u2019s a great starting point for beginners because it is instantly recognisable in the winter sky and contains wonderful stars and deep-sky objects that demand closer inspection. Here we\u2019ll explore some of Orion\u2019s astronomical treasures and how you can view them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The figure of the mighty hunter Orion is unmistakable in the winter sky <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Orion\u2019s Belt <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Recommended equipment: Naked eye<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orion is easy to spot because of the three stars in an almost straight line that run through its middle. These are (left to right) Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, and they form Orion\u2019s Belt, an asterism (pattern of stars) within the larger constellation. Alnitak is a triple star system, Alnilam is 375,000 times brighter than the Sun and Mintaka is a binary star system (two stars orbiting each other). Orion\u2019s Belt forms part of a larger open cluster known as Collinder 70. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Betelgeuse and Rigel <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Recommended equipment: Naked eye, binoculars or small\/medium telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At opposite corners of the figure of Orion are its two brightest stars. Betelgeuse and Rigel are winter night-sky celebrities. Betelgeuse is a red supergiant with an orange hue that is greatly enhanced through binoculars and telescopes. A thousand times bigger than our own Sun, if you placed Betelgeuse in the centre of our Solar System it would swallow up Jupiter. In the far future, Betelgeuse will explode as a supernova, and will be so bright it will cast shadows on the ground. In contrast, icy-blue Rigel is a blue supergiant star 70,000 times more luminous than our own Sun. At a magnitude of +0.12, it is the seventh-brightest star in the night sky.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bellatrix <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Recommended equipment: Naked eye<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third-brightest star in Orion, Bellatrix lies in the top right corner, 5\u00b0 to the west of Betelgeuse. Its name means \u2018female warrior\u2019 in Latin. This blue giant star, almost six times the Sun\u2019s diameter, is just 25 million years old. Shining at mag. +1.6, it is the 25th-brightest star in the sky.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saiph <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Recommended equipment: Naked eye<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The faintest of the four corner stars of Orion, blue-white Saiph \u2013 from the Arabic word for \u2018sword\u2019 \u2013 is another supergiant. Although it\u2019s 56,000 times more luminous than our own Sun, its distance of around 650 lightyears reduces it to mag. +2 in our sky.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jewel in the crown: the Orion Nebula leaps to life through a small refractor <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Orion Nebula <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Recommended equipment: Naked eye, binoculars or small\/medium telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Orion Nebula, M42, lies in the centre of Orion\u2019s Sword, a short vertical line of three fainter stars that hangs from Orion\u2019s Belt. It looks like the middle \u2018star\u2019 of the sword to the naked eye, a little fuzzier than the stars above and below it. Composed of dust and gas and located 1,344 lightyears away, it can be seen with the naked eye and is a perfect pitstop for beginners. A pair of 10×50 binoculars will enhance the nebula, while a small telescope will bring out dark and light patches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trapezium Cluster <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Recommended equipment: Binoculars, small\/medium or Large telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embedded in the heart of the Orion Nebula, the Trapezium Cluster is a tight open cluster of stars born from the surrounding dust and gas. The cluster appears as a single starry point through binoculars, but its four brightest stars are revealed through medium-aperture telescopes. Through a large telescope, it is a stunning sight, illuminating the gas and dust behind and around it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Orion\u2019s famous Belt (left to right): Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. Bump up the aperture to see the iconic Horsehead Nebula (left) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Horsehead Nebula <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Recommended equipment: Small\/medium or Large telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Horsehead Nebula is a \u2018dark nebula\u2019 \u2013 a cloud of dust silhouetted against brighter gas behind it. It\u2019s just beneath Alnitak, the star shining on the eastern end of Orion\u2019s Belt. If you want to see it you\u2019ll need a dark sky, a high-power eyepiece in your telescope and a Moon-free night. You\u2019ll see the nebula as a dark notch on the lighter background. Under perfect conditions, it looks like a knight chess piece.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The dusty tendrils of the Flame Nebula are a little tricky thanks to Alnitak\u2019s glare, and call for larger instruments and dark skies <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Flame Nebula <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Recommended equipment: Small\/medium or Large telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somewhat overshadowed by its bigger and more famous neighbours, the Orion and Horsehead Nebulae, the Flame is a cloud of dust and gas illuminated by Belt star Alnitak. Visible as a roughly cone-shaped smudge through small telescopes, larger instruments show it cut down the middle by a dark dust lane. The nebula is a great photographic target: even short unguided exposures with a DSLR camera on a tripod will record it well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sigma Orionis <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Recommended equipment: Naked eye or small\/medium telescope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the eastern end of Orion\u2019s Belt, just south of Alnitak, this fourth-magnitude multiple star is the brightest member of a young open star cluster sprinkled across the same telescopic field of view as the Horsehead Nebula. The cluster has several dozen members bright enough to be seen through a telescope. Sigma itself is a system of five stars and even a small telescope will resolve its brightest components, making it a popular target for backyard observers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Katrin Raynor is an astronomy writer and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

PHOTOS: CHART BY PETE LAWRENCE, EERIK\/ISTOCK\/GETTY IMAGES, CEDIC TEAM\/CHRISTOPH KALTSEIS\/ CCDGUIDE.COM, FRANZ KLAUSER\/CCDGUIDE.COM, DAVIDHAJNAL\/ISTOCK\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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