Constellation Orion - the most beautiful area of ​​the night winter sky

Late winter night on the south side of the skyIt is impossible not to notice three bright stars. They are located very close, as if lined up in a straight line, slightly inclined to the horizon. This constellation Orion, or rather, its central part. It is very large. Eight bright stars of Orion draw a figure that many amateur astronomers resemble a giant bow. But in ancient times people, looking at him, imagined a mighty hunter armed with a fighting wooden club and a large shield. Three stars in one row - this is the so-called "belt" of Orion, from which hung a quiver with arrows. In this constellation there are several bright noteworthy stars. Their names - Betelgeuse and Rigel - are translated from Arabic as "giant's shoulder" and "foot" respectively.

В греческой мифологии созвездие Орион связано с stories about a beautiful young man. He was the son of the lord of the seas of Poseidon and the young oceanid of Euryale. Orion was famous for its gigantic growth and incredible beauty, besides being one of the best hunters who was allowed to be in the retinue of the goddess Artemis herself.

One day he saw the beautiful daughter of King Enopion -the ruler of Chios. Orion asked for the hand of the beautiful Meropa, and her father gave his consent with the condition that a mighty hunter would rid their island of wild dangerous beasts. Of course, the young man completed the task, but on returning to the king was refused. Arriving in a fierce rage, he burst into the bedroom of the failed bride and took her by force. Demanding revenge, Enopion appealed to his father, the god Dionysus. When, having calmed down and drunk with satyrs, Orion fell fast asleep on the seashore, the cunning king blinded him, took out his eyes. A lot of tests fell to the share of the young man. Only after reaching the most distant shore of the mighty ocean, he again saw the light. In the same place, the beautiful goddess of dawn, Eos saw the mighty Orion and kidnapped him in her chariot.

The constellation Orion is also associated with another myth.Once, while hunting in the forest, Orion saw the seven sisters of the Pleiades, the daughters of the giant Atlas. The ardent young man immediately fell in love with memory and tried to approach them. But the nymphs Selena were extremely shy and timid. And at the first attempt of the hunter to talk to them, they ran away. Frightened to not see them again, Orion began the pursuit, but the young galaxies rushed without thinking, until the forces left them. Then they prayed to their patroness, Selene. The goddess heard them and turned the sisters into snow-white doves, placing them on the sky in the form of the Pleiades constellation.

Существует несколько мифов, связанных с гибелью mighty hunter. The constellation Orion tells of one of them. According to this legend, he was stung by a giant scorpion, called upon by the goddess Artemis, because a brave young man had dared to touch her peplos during a hunt. But the goddess Selena, who loved the young man, appealed to Zeus, and he carried him to heaven, where the mighty Orion still hunts. Its constellation never meets on a heavenly slope with a giant scorpion.

Undoubtedly, Orion's location at nightthe sky is the brightest and most beautiful. When it rises high above the horizon, you can see the seven brightest stars of the first magnitude, forming a hexagon, in the center of which will be Betelgeuse. These stars include Capella, Procyon, Riegel, Pollux, Sirius and Aldebaran. Many people, even those not related to astronomy, can easily find the constellation Orion in the winter sky, the photo can be seen in all astronomical encyclopedias.