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Credit & Copyright: John Gauvreau
Explanation:
Orion, the Hunter, is one of the most easily recognizable
constellations
in planet Earth's night sky.
But Orion's stars and
nebulas don't look
quite as colorful to the eye as they do in
this lovely camera image, taken
early last month at the
Black Forest Star Party from
Cherry Springs State Park in
Pennsylvania,
USA.
In this single exposure, cool red giant
Betelgeuse
takes on a yellowish tint as the brightest star at the far left.
Otherwise Orion's hot blue stars are numerous, with
supergiant Rigel balancing Betelgeuse at the upper right, Bellatrix at the
upper left, and
Saiph at the lower right.
Lined up in Orion's belt (bottom to top) 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
Publications with words: Orion
See also: