Facts about Orion

, , Leave a comment

Orion

Long ago, in 270 B.C, the ideas of GPS and location tracking systems were unthought-of and probably believed to be non-implementable.
It was however still necessary that the travelers kept track of their locations on the ground to know where they were headed and thus, they decided to use the stars in the night sky as their travel guides.
The legacy began when the ancient Greek formed patterns from the stars present in the sky by relating them to mythical characters. This marked the birth of constellations.

Every constellation is made up of different stars and has a story related to it. Orion is one such constellation and is also known as the hunter.

Facts about Orion

1. The myth behind the constellation
Orion was believed to be the son of Poseidon and was believed to have possessed extraordinary superhuman abilities. According to mythology, he was believed to be a hunter who had a club. When he was killed, he occupied a position in the skies as one of the main constellation.

2. Depiction of the constellation
The earliest depiction of the constellation was discovered by archeologists in a cave in the Arch valley in Germany. The discovery was made in 1979. A prehistoric ivory carving was discovered and the archeologists believed it to be atleast 30,000 years old.

3. Orion is visible in Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Orion is normally visible between November and February during the night. In the Northern hemisphere, it is normally visible in the southwestern sky from late autumn to early spring. In the southern hemisphere, it is visible in the northwestern sky during months of summer and is seen upside down.

4. The largest star in the constellation
Orion occupies an area of about 594 square degrees and has two brightest stars in the constellation.

5. Brightest stars of Orion
The two brightest stars of Orion are Betelgeuse and Rigel.

6. Colours of the Stars of Orion
Orion constellation mainly consists of bright blue stars. An exception to this is Betelgeuse which is a red star.

7. The orions belt
The orions belt is made up of three prominenet stars Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitak.
8. Other constellations of the Orion family
Hatsya, Meissa and Saiph are the other stars. Hatsya represents the tip of Orion’s sword and Meissa is said to form the head. Saiph is believed to serve as the Orion’s right knee.

9. Orion constellation is known in many cultures
The stars that form Orion’s Belt and sword are called the Pot or the Saucepan in Australia. The three stars of Orion’s Belt are known as DrieKonings (the three kings) or DrieSusters (the three sisters) in South Africa. In Spain and Latin America, they are called Las TresMarías, or The Three Marys. Orion is also known as the Heavenly Shephered by the Babylonians.

10. Mention of stars of Orion in The Bible and Medieval Muslim astronomy
There is reference to the constellation of Orion as Kesil in the Bible and ai-jabbar in the Muslim astronomy.

11. Nabta Playa and the stars of Orion
Nabta Playa is an archaeological site located in the Sahara desert.It was discovered by scientists in 1974 and they refer to it as “mini Stonehenge of the desert.”It is believed that Nabta Playa aligns to the stars of Orio.

Tea Time Quiz

[forminator_poll id="23176"]
 

Leave a Reply