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Please explain about orion constellations |
Orion constellation lies in the northern sky, on the celestial equator. It is one of the brightest and best known constellations in the night sky. Orion is also known as the Hunter: it is associated with one in mythology. The constellation represents the mythical hunter Orion, who is often depicted in star maps as either facing the charge of Taurus, the bull, or chasing after the hare (constellation Lepus) with his two hunting dogs, represented by the nearby constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor. The constellation Orion contains two of the ten brightest stars in the sky – Rigel (Beta Orionis) and Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) – a number of famous nebulae – the Orion Nebula, De Mairan’s Nebula and the Horsehead Nebula, among others – the well-known Trapezium cluster, and one of the most prominent asterisms in the night sky – Orion’s Belt. Orion is the 26th constellation in size, occupying an area of 594 square degrees. It is located in the first quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ1) and can be seen at latitudes between +85° and -75°. The neighboring constellations are Eridanus, Gemini, Lepus, Monoceros and Taurus. Orion contains three Messier objects – Messier 42 (M42, NGC 1976, Orion Nebula), Messier 43 (M43, NGC 1982, De Mairan’s Nebula), and Messier 78 (M78, NGC 2068) – and has seven stars with known planets. The brightest star in the constellation is Rigel, Beta Orionis, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.18. Rigel is also the sixth brightest star in the sky. The second brightest star in Orion, Betelgeuse, Alpha Orionis, has an apparent magnitude of 0.43 and is the eighth brightest star in the night sky. There are two meteor showers associated with Orion, the Orionids and the Chi Orionids. The Orionid meteor shower reaches its peak around October 21st every year. |