Starry Winter Nights

Dec 1, 2000 - © Irene Taylor

Another famous winter constellation is Orion, the Hunter. This large star group can be seen rising in the east after sunset, and is visible from all places on Earth. Orion is most easily recognized by finding the three bright stars that make up Orion's belt. If you face south and look overhead, you can't miss them. There are two other very bright stars within Orion. The red giant, Betelgeuse is found above the belt and forms Orion's right shoulder. Rigel, one of the brightest stars in the sky, is easily seen below the belt and forms Orion's left knee. Using these stars as a guide, the rest of the shape of Orion can be seen - head, shoulders, the belt around his waist, and two knees below.

Two other objects in Orion are worth noting. Looking directly below the first star in the belt is the Horsehead Nebula, and looking a little further down is the fuzzy patch known as the Great Orion Nebula. To view the famous Horsehead within the nebula, a telescope is needed.

Orion is a giant hunter in the sky, accompanied by his two dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor. In many cultures this figure represents the forces of goodness and light. Orion is said to be the son of Poseidon, and was the Sun-god of the Egyptians and the Phoenicians. As the story goes, Orion was a great hunter and boasted that he could slay any animal. The gods didn't like that boast and brought the Scorpion to sting Orion and kill him.

Here are some other great "Star Sights" to make your stargazing fun!

Match the Constellations is a great way to learn to recognize those big pictures in the sky.

Izzy's Sky Log is a web page devoted to backyard observing and amateur astronomy.

The Constellations and their Stars has a large list of links to astronomy sites.

The Constellations has mythology, information about stars in constellations and suggestions on how to observe them.

Constellation Mythology has links to the star stories of all 88 constellations.

Happy stargazing!!

Graphics courtesy of Microsoft Clip Gallery Live!

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The copyright of the article Starry Winter Nights in Tips for Teachers is owned by Irene Taylor. Permission to republish Starry Winter Nights in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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