March 2000

My Favorite Constellation

If you're a champion at finding things in the night sky, you may want to skip this month. If you think, maybe, you saw the Big Dipper once when you were a kid, then this article is for you. I want to talk about Orion the Hunter, my favorite constellation.

This one's easy to find. If you go out and look, I guarantee you'll see it (well, not really, but it should be a piece of cake).

This time of year, Orion is center stage in the southern sky. He's even right-side-up. Here's what to do: wait until sunset (that should be about 6:30 pm, local time, no matter where in the northern hemisphere you are). Go outside and watch it, or at least make note of the direction the sun is setting in ("What ho! The golden sphere sinks behind yonder oak tree."). Now you've got about a half hour before the stars start coming out. Chat with a neighbor. Read a book (when you can't see the words anymore, check for stars). By about 7:00 or 7:30 pm, Orion will be ready to go.

Face south. If that's tricky, face the direction of sunset (you know, the oak tree) and then turn left, almost halfway. Look about two-thirds of the way up. Ta-daa!

The picture at right shows you what to look for. Is that a giant blue alien trying to high-five you? No, that's your hand, held at arm's length, to give you an idea of how big this constellation is.

See those three stars in a neat little row? Those make up the belt of Orion, smack in the middle of the constellation. Above the belt, and a bit left, is a bright star that marks Orion's shoulder, called Betelgeuse (you can pronounce it Beetlejuice, and no one will stop you). If it looks a little orange, you're not crazy.

Exactly opposite of Betelgeuse, across the belt (we're talking down and a little right, here), is another bright star, called Rigel (RYE-jel is fine, but say it however you want). It marks Orion's knee, and is sort of blue-white. I like the contrast between the colors of Rigel and Betelgeuse.

Now for the best part. Directly under the belt is a little vertical "chain" of stars, smaller than the belt itself. This is Orion's sword, hanging unused in a scabbard at his hip. Within the sword lies one of the greatest treasures of the night sky, marked by the green square in the diagram. Go grab your binoculars from the hall closet, and focus them on the sword (it might be easier to find the three stars of the belt in your binoculars, and then drop down a bit). See that little greenish hazy spot? That's the Orion Nebula, a giant cloud of hydrogen gas floating in space. In that cloud, new stars are being born.

See? Not so tough! You are on your way to knowing the sky.

Steve White
Nightly Observing Program
Kitt Peak Visitor Center

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Telescope Operators/Guides for Nightly Program:
Adam Block (ablock@noao.edu) Lead Observer
Steve White (swhite@noao.edu)
Flynn Haase (fhaase@noao.edu)
Richard Barchfield (richardb@noao.edu)

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Updated: 04/01/2000