Orion

Abbreviation: Ori
Genitive: Orionis
Right Ascension: 5.59 hours
Declination: 4.58 degrees

Orion, the Hunter, is visible from October through March in both hemispheres.

Orion the Giant Hunter or Warrior, he was a giant so tall that he could wade through any sea, His first marriage ended when the boastfulness of his first wife got her banished to the underworld. He was blinded by a jealous father when he fell in love with a Greek princess, but regained his sight when an oracle told him to look into the sun at dawn. When he saw Aurora the goddess of dawn, they fell in love. All was well until Orion was stung by a Scorpion, he fell sick and died. In order to honor him and protect him from his enemy he rises in the east as his enemy, the Scorpion sets in the West. Orion is never seen at the same time as the Scorpion.

Orion was used to predict the seasons, a midnight rising of Orion meant that the grapes were ready to harvest, a morning rising meant that Summer was beginning, and an evening rising that winter is here.

Bright Stars | Deep Sky | Other Deep Sky | Variable Stars | Double Stars

Best Known Stars

(Yale Bright Star Catalog)

Common Name or Bayer Number 1	RA	DEC	Magnitude 2
RIGEL	5.00:14.00:32.26	-8.00:12.00:5.98	0.12
BETELGEUSE	5.00:55.00:10.30	+7.00:24.00:25.35	0.40
BELLATRIX	5.00:25.00:7.85	+6.00:20.00:58.74	1.64
ALNILAM	5.00:36.00:12.80	-1.00:12.00:7.02	1.70
SAIPH	5.00:47.00:45.38	-9.00:40.00:10.75	2.06
MINTAKA	5.00:32.00:0.39	-0.00:17.00:56.88	2.23
IOT ORI	5.00:35.00:25.97	-5.00:54.00:35.61	2.77
PI3 ORI	4.00:49.00:50.41	+6.00:57.00:40.54	3.19
TAU ORI	5.00:17.00:36.38	-6.00:50.00:39.86	3.60
PI4 ORI	4.00:51.00:12.36	+5.00:36.00:18.31	3.69
PI5 ORI	4.00:54.00:15.08	+2.00:26.00:26.34	3.72
PHI1 ORI	5.00:34.00:49.23	+9.00:29.00:22.35	4.41
NU ORI	6.00:7.00:34.32	+14.00:46.00:6.40	4.42
11 ORI	5.00:4.00:34.14	+15.00:24.00:14.65	4.68
22 ORI	5.00:21.00:45.74	-0.00:22.00:57.07	4.73
OMI1 ORI	4.00:52.00:31.96	+14.00:15.00:2.17	4.74
74 ORI	6.00:16.00:26.61	+12.00:16.00:19.71	5.04
60 ORI	5.00:58.00:49.57	+0.00:33.00:10.66	5.22
16 ORI	5.00:9.00:19.64	+9.00:49.00:46.43	5.43
66 ORI	6.00:4.00:58.35	+4.00:9.00:31.05	5.63

Deep Sky Objects

(PAS Catalog)

M-42

M-42 The Great Nebula. One of the finest sights in the sky, this nebula is easily visible to the naked eye as the 'fuzzy' star in the middle of Orion's sword. It appears distinctly nebulous in binoculars or finder scopes, and shows an amazing amount of detail through the telescope. It is fully a degree in extent, with a wealth of fine curling wisps of nebulosity curving out from the brightest region surrounding the four relatively bright stars known as the Trapezium. On good nights with low power, I have even been able to see colors in this object. The region around the Trapezium appears as a cold steel blue color, wile the wispy regions further away can appear as a soft ruddy pink. Slightly separated from the main nebulosity, is M-43. This nebula is seen as a comma shaped cloud surrounding an eighth magnitude star just north of the Great Nebula. The more time you spend in this area, the more fine detail can be seen.

M-43

M-43 is diffuse nebula. The dark features along its eastern border are well visible in telescopes starting at about 8 inch. The nebula itself is a fine view even in a 4-inch.

M-78

M-78 This is another fine area of nebulosity. It is about 6' in diameter, and surrounds two magnitude 10 stars. It is somewhat fan shaped, and appears comet-like at low powers. NGC's 2064, 2067, and 2071 lie in very close proximity to M-78, and are all nebulous regions as well.

NGC-1773-75-77

NGC 1973-75-77 this is a relatively bright region of nebulosity just north of the M- 42 complex. It is large, about 15'x10 and surrounds several relatively bright stars. It would be observed more often if it weren't located so close to M-42, and greatly deserves more attention.

NGC-2022

NGC 2022 This is a small, but relatively bright planetary nebula about 20 seconds in diameter. It is slightly brighter at the center, and fades gradually to the edges.

NGC-2024

Photo by Mike Frasca

NGC 2024 The Flame Nebula. This is a relatively bright nebula which is best seen at low powers. Just northeast of Zeta Ori, this fascinating object is about 15'x10', and is divided by a lane of dark nebulosity which branches through it. While some also call this the Christmas Tree Nebula, I find that it more closely resembles a celestial oak leaf. This object definitely deserves close scrutiny.

Other Deep Sky Objects

(Saguaro Astronomy Club Catalog)

Only Objects less than 10.0 Mag.

Object	R.A.	Dec.	Object Type 3	Mag.	Uranometria	Tirion
NGC 1662	04 48.5	+10 56	OPNCL	06.4	179	11
Cr 65	05 26.0	+16 00	OPNCL	03	180	11
Cr 69	05 35.1	+09 56	OPNCL	02.8	180	11
NGC 1981	05 35.2	-04 26	OPNCL	04.2	225	11
NGC 1980	05 35.2	-05 55	CL+NB	02.5	270	11
NGC 1976	05 35.3	-05 23	CL+NB	04	225	11
NGC 1982	05 35.5	-05 16	BRTNB	09	225	11
Cr 70	05 36.0	-01 00	OPNCL	0.4	225	11
NGC 2068	05 46.8	+00 04	BRTNB	08	226	11
Berk 21	05 51.7	+21 47	OPNCL	01.1	136	05
NGC 2112	05 53.9	+00 24	OPNCL	09.1	226	11
Basel 11B	05 58.2	+21 58	OPNCL	08.9	136	05
Basel 11	05 59.1	+21 54	OPNCL	08.9	136	05
NGC 2141	06 03.1	+10 26	OPNCL	09.4	181	11
NGC 2169	06 08.4	+13 57	OPNCL	05.9	182	11
NGC 2175	06 09.8	+20 19	CL+NB	06.8	137	05
NGC 2175S	06 10.9	+20 36	OPNCL	06.8	137	05
NGC 2186	06 12.2	+05 27	OPNCL	08.7	227	11
NGC 2194	06 13.8	+12 48	OPNCL	08.5	182	11

Variable Stars

(General Catalog of Variable Stars)

Only Objects <= 8.0 magnitude

GCVS ID	R.A. (hh mm ss.ss)	Dec. (deg mm ss)	Variable Type 4	Mag. Min	Mag. Max
VV Ori	5.00:30.00:59.10	-1.00:11.00:23.00	EA/KE:	5.66	5.31
CI Ori	5.00:27.00:11.50	-1.00:7.00:48.00	CST:	4.71	4.67
CK Ori	5.00:27.00:41.20	+4.00:10.00:2.00	SR:	7.10	5.90
NU Ori	5.00:33.00:3.70	-5.00:17.00:55.00	INSA	6.93	6.80
V0359 Ori	5.00:33.00:5.20	-4.00:52.00:7.00	SXARI	7.36	7.25
V0901 Ori	5.00:38.00:24.30	-1.00:31.00:55.00	SXARI	7.02	6.97
V1004 Ori	5.00:55.00:48.50	+1.00:50.00:1.00	DSCTC	5.92	5.88
V1016 Ori	5.00:32.00:48.00	-5.00:25.00:6.00	EA	7.65	6.72
V1030 Ori	5.00:36.00:16.40	-2.00:37.00:18.00	SXARI	6.77	6.61
V1031 Ori	5.00:45.00:5.50	-10.00:32.00:58.00	EA/DM	6.43	6.02
V1032 Ori	5.00:1.00:42.50	+15.00:20.00:10.00	ACV	4.69	4.65
V1045 Ori	5.00:32.00:24.90	-4.00:8.00:32.00	ACV	0.04	6.73
V1046 Ori	5.00:32.00:53.30	-4.00:31.00:31.00	E:+SXARI	6.58	6.54
V1051 Ori	5.00:38.00:24.60	-10.00:26.00:2.00	ACV	0.02	6.52
V1054 Ori	5.00:45.00:52.70	-0.00:46.00:31.00	ACV	7.35	7.32
V1085 Ori	5.00:9.00:7.10	+0.00:27.00:17.00	ACV	6.70	6.65
V1086 Ori	5.00:22.00:9.00	+1.00:48.00:8.00	GCAS	4.96	4.92
V1149 Ori	5.00:38.00:48.50	+3.00:45.00:14.00	RS:	0.11	7.20
V1155 Ori	6.00:16.00:7.30	+17.00:20.00:48.00	ACV	0.02	6.32
V1156 Ori	5.00:21.00:14.20	+2.00:2.00:13.00	SXARI	0.03	7.89
V1179 Ori	5.00:33.00:41.20	-7.00:25.00:37.00	ACV	0.10	7.37
V1192 Ori	4.00:57.00:30.80	+3.00:12.00:48.00	RS	7.57	7.50
V1197 Ori	5.00:40.00:37.40	-1.00:38.00:5.00	ELL	0.03	6.30
V1198 Ori	4.00:55.00:43.30	+0.00:22.00:44.00	RS	7.19	7.12
V1260 Ori	6.00:16.00:39.10	+13.00:28.00:13.00	RS	0.11	7.70
V1261 Ori	5.00:19.00:54.80	-8.00:42.00:47.00	EA/GS/WD	0.27	6.91
alf Ori	5.00:52.00:27.80	+7.00:23.00:58.00	SRC	1.30	0.00
del Ori	5.00:29.00:27.00	-0.00:20.00:4.00	EA/DM	2.26	2.14
eps Ori	5.00:33.00:40.00	-1.00:13.00:54.00	ACYG	1.74	1.64
eta Ori	5.00:21.00:57.70	-2.00:26.00:30.00	EA+BCEP:	3.60	3.31
omi 1 Ori	4.00:49.00:42.10	+14.00:10.00:8.00	SRB	4.88	4.65
pi. 5 Ori	4.00:51.00:38.70	+2.00:21.00:37.00	ELL	3.73	3.66
psi Ori	5.00:24.00:12.90	+3.00:3.00:14.00	E/D	4.61	4.55
ome Ori	5.00:36.00:32.60	+4.00:5.00:41.00	GCAS	4.59	4.40

Double Stars

(Saguaro Astronomy Club Catalog)

Only Objects <= 8.0 magnitude

Name	R.A. (hh mm.m)	Dec. (deg mm)	Mag 5	Sep 6	PA 7	Tirion	Uranometria
SHJ 49	04 59.0	14 32	6.0, 8.0	39.20	305	11	179
STF 627	05 00.6	03 36	6.6, 7.0	21.30	260	11	224/ 225
STF 630	05 02.0	01 36	6.5, 7.7	14.60	51	11	224/ 225
STT 62	05 12.1	06 49	7.7, 7.9	124.20	49	11	180
STF 696	05 22.9	03 32	5.0, 7.1	31.90	29	11	225
STF 700	05 23.1	01 03	7.7, 7.9	4.80	5	11	225
STF 701	05 23.3	-08 25	6.0, 7.8	6.00	140	11	270
DA 5	05 24.4	-02 23	3.8, 4.8	1.60	77	11	225
STF 729	05 31.2	03 18	5.8, 7.1	1.80	27	11	225
STF 14	05 32.0	-00 17	2.5, 6.6	52.50	null	11	225/ 226
STF 747	05 35.0	-06 01	4.7, 5.6	36.20	223	11	225/226/270/271
STF 738	05 35.1	09 56	3.7, 5.6	4.40	43	11	180/ 181
STF 748	05 35.3	-05 23	6.8, 7.9	8.80	32	11	225/ 226
STF 748	05 35.3	-05 23	6.8, 5.4	12.80	132	11	225/ 226
STF 748	05 35.3	-05 23	6.8, 6.8	21.50	96	11	225/ 226
STF 748	05 35.3	-05 23	7.9, 5.4	16.90	163	11	225/ 226
STF 748	05 35.3	-05 23	6.8, 7.9	19.40	300	11	225/ 226
STF 748	05 35.3	-05 23	6.8, 5.4	13.40	242	11	225/ 226
STF 16	05 35.4	-05 25	5.2, 6.5	52.50	92	11	225/ 226
STF 17	05 35.4	-05 25	4.9, 5.0	135.30	314	11	225/ 226
STF 752	05 35.4	-05 55	2.9, 7.0	11.40	141	11	225/ 226
STT 65	05 37.9	00 57	7.2, 7.9	80.10	31	11	225/ 226
STF 762	05 38.7	-02 35	4.0, 8.0	30.10	231	11	225/ 226
SIG ORI	05 38.7	-02 35	4.0, 7.5	12.90	84	11	225/ 226
SIG ORI	05 38.7	-02 35	4.0, 6.5	42.60	61	11	225/ 226
STF 774	05 40.7	-01 56	2.0, 4.2	2.60	162	11	226
STF 795	05 48.0	06 27	6.1, 6.1	1.30	214	11	181
STF 855	06 09.0	02 30	6.0, 7.0	29.50	114	11/ 12	226/ 227
STT 71	06 14.4	11 49	7.3, 7.7	90.30	310	11/ 12	182
STF 877	06 14.7	14 35	7.3, 7.8	5.70	263	11/ 12	182
STT 73	06 19.5	13 25	7.0, 7.8	72.70	44	11/ 12	182