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Credit: Matthew Spinelli
Explanation:
Orion, the Hunter, is one of the most easily recognizable
constellations
in planet Earth's night sky.
But Orion's stars and
nebulae don't look
quite as colorful to the
eye as they do in
this lovely photograph, taken last month from Vekol Ranch south
of
Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
The celestial scene was recorded
in a five minute
time exposure using high-speed color print film
and a 35mm camera mounted on a small telescope.
In the picture, cool red giant
Betelgeuse
takes on a yellowish tint as the brightest star
at the upper left.
Otherwise Orion's hot blue stars are numerous, with
supergiant Rigel balancing Betelgeuse at the
lower right, Bellatrix at the upper right, and
Saiph at the lower left.
Lined up in Orion's belt (left to right) are
Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka all about 1,500 light-years away,
born of the constellation's well studied
interstellar
clouds.
And if the middle "star" of Orion's sword looks reddish and fuzzy
to you, it should.
It's the stellar nursery known as the
Great Nebula of Orion.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Orion - constellation
Publications with words: Orion - constellation
See also: