Can you see orion in the northern hemisphere

By: Valerie Stimac Updated: Feb 4, As you learn more about the night sky, you've undoubtedly noticed three stars , equidistant from one another, that shine brightly as they pass overhead each night between October and March.

These three stars are Orion's Belt, part of the constellation Orion, the Hunter. To many ancient people, the pattern of Orion looked like the figure of a human with an arrow, and the three stars were the belt around the figure's waist.

Each star has its own name: Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitak. Though they are different types of stars, distant from Earth, and distant from one another, our perspective makes them appear as an asterism a shape made of stars that aren't officially a constellation that is welcomingly familiar to anyone who enjoys stargazing. All three stars are several times larger and brighter than our sun.

Due to its bright, recognizable form, Orion's Belt has been one of the most consistently documented asterisms in the night sky throughout human history. Orion's Belt — along with another well-known asterism, the Pleiades, are mentioned in two books of the Bible: the Book of Job and the Book of Amos.

Orion is still chasing them there. In Western culture, you may sometimes hear Orion's Belt referred to as the Three Kings in a biblical reference or the three sisters.

The asterism is mentioned in other cultural stories and mythologies too, from locations as varied as northwestern Mexico, Finland and India. The Greek astronomer Ptolemy included Orion as one of the 48 original constellations in the second century. You've probably seen Orion's Belt even if you don't know anything about astronomy. The constellation Orion is visible at night across most of the globe during the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere; during the summer months, it is in the sky during daylight hours when the sun makes it impossible to see.

These seasons are reversed if you are viewing Orion from the Southern Hemisphere. Orion's Belt is located on the celestial equator an imaginary circle around the sky that is directly above Earth's equator , which means it rises high in the sky during those cold winter months with dark skies that are perfect for stargazing. Orion rises in the east and sets in the west, starting at mid-evening midway between sundown and midnight. It rises four minutes earlier each day, or two hours earlier each month, according to EarthSky.

Orion's Belt is easy to find because it is bright, and the stars in the asterism appear to be equally distant from one another based on our earthly perspective. In fact, the stars and star systems that comprise Orion's Belt are light-years apart and far distant from us between 1, and 2, light-years away from us.

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Dave's Universe Year of Pluto. Groups Why Join? Astronomy Day. Shen was set in the sky in the middle of a hunting scene, with Three Stars that depicted his belt. Having immense powers of the sea, Poseidon gave Orion the ability to walk on water. Using this power, he crossed the ocean and arrived at the island of Chios. After partying and drinking too much, he tried to force himself upon Merope, the daughter of the local King Oenopion.

In a rage, the King had him blinded and banished from the island. Orion eventually had his sight restored by the sun God Helios. He became an enthusiastic hunter but unfortunately had a bad attitude.

When he declared that he would kill every animal in the world, the Goddess of the Earth, Gaea, became angry and sent a giant scorpion to do battle with him. The Scorpion succeeded in killing Orion. Zeus turned both Orion and the Scorpion into constellations. In ancient mythology, the Hunter symbolized a force that was strong and powerful. He was feared by his enemies and admired by his friends.

Image credit: Sanu N. He has huge amounts of perseverance, endurance, and stamina, stalking his prey, sometimes for many miles before the kill. The Egyptians were also known to have discovered Orion.

Starseeds are highly evolved souls who have great powers of wisdom. They believe that closer observations with more powerful telescopes will reveal many more exoplanets. Exoplanets are exciting in that they revolve around the main star and could offer similar conditions to our solar system. Meteor showers make awesome viewing if you are lucky enough to be in an area where they are visible. The Orionids is a shower that stems from the club that Orion holds aloft in his hand.

These showers will be seen around October 21, , before dawn. You will see around 10 to 20 meteors per hour, leaving long trains in the sky. This year, there will be no moon to detract from the sight — grab your telescope and get ready! Skip to content. Alnitak is light-years from Earth. Alnilam is light-years away. Mintaka is around light-years away. So, how far is Orion from Earth? In the northern hemisphere, the Hunter stands upright.

You can form his body by finding the famous three stars that make up his belt. Dangling down from his belt is a sword. The sword is easily seen as it contains the bright Orion Nebula, which looks like a dense, bright spot in the sky. Work your way upwards and imagine him holding a large club. Opposite Betelgeuse is a bright star known as Bellatrix. This star marks the shoulder of his right arm, which extends outwards. In his right hand, he holds a shield. Some ancient cultures saw it as animal skin, or a slain lion — you can decide.

How old is the Orion constellation? Scientifically, the constellation contains objects that are millions of years old. Here are a few Orion facts The star Rigel is a relatively young star at only 10 million years old.

Betelgeuse is also around the same age. Bellatrix is older at around 25 million years. Zodiac family Orion the Hunter is not one of the twelve constellations of the Zodiac. This is because the constellation does not lie on the ecliptic path of the sun. Because they were enemies , the two constellations are never seen in the sky at the same time 5. Orion is also closely connected to Taurus the Bull, the 2nd sign of the Zodiac.

Features Stars in Orion constellation Like most constellations, the constellation of Orion is made up of numerous stars.