Two bright stars in the constellation Orion: names. The most notable stars in the constellation Orion

The constellation Orion is one of the most beautiful in the night sky. For many it is familiar from childhood: it is difficult to ignore it, since the most visible stars and celestial objects in the constellation Orion are visible from the Earth with the naked eye. These include luminaries, a number of parameters superior to the Sun, and the beautiful Great Nebula M42. Two bright stars in the constellation Orion, Rigel and Betelgeuse are very easy to find in the sky. They facilitate the discovery of the remaining elements of the constellation.

Description

Orion - an ancient mythical character, skilled hunter, ally and beloved Artemis. Legends and myths about the constellation Orion say that it appeared in the sky by the will of the inconsolable goddess who killed the hunter as a result of the cunning of her jealous brother Apollo. Artemis swore forever to remember her lover and placed him in the sky.

In the arrangement of the elements it is very easy to guess the silhouette of the hunter. He froze in the sky with a raised cudgel, a sword on his belt and a shield in his hand. Constellation details are known asterisms. The sheaf forms a characteristic figure. The Orion Belt is formed by three well-marked stars, located on one straight line. A little lower is the asterism of the Sword of Orion, which includes two stars and between them a blurry speck of the M42 nebula. The belt at the southeastern end of the line points to Sirius, and to the north-west to Aldebaran.

Impressive every bright star in the constellation of Orion. The constellations surrounding it are losing in beauty precisely because of the lack of such a large number of elements that are impressive for their luminosity.

The Palma of the Championship

Against the backdrop of all this splendor, a couple of giants stand out. The historical name of two bright stars in the constellation Orion - Rigel and Betelgeuse. Their scientific designation is Beta and Alpha Orion respectively. Both giants, as already mentioned, are perfectly visible from the Earth. We can say that they compete for the title of the first star in this heavenly figure. Betelgeuse is designated as Alpha, but Rigel is somewhat brighter.

The name of two bright stars in the constellation Orion is of Arab origin. Rigel in translation means "leg", and Betelgeuse - "armpit". The names of the stars, thus, give an approximate understanding of where the lights are located. Alpha Orion is located on the right armpit of the hunter, and Beta is on his leg.

Red supergiant

Betelgeuse in many ways can be considered the most significant luminary in Orion. It is a red supergiant, referring to semi-regular variable stars: its brightness varies from 0.2 to 1.2 magnitude. In this case, the smaller limit of luminosity exceeds the level of this parameter in the sun by eighty thousand times. The distance separating the star and the Earth is estimated at an average of 570 light years (the exact value of the parameter is unknown).

The scale of Betelgeuse can be realized by comparing them with the dimensions of the orbits of the planets of the solar system. The minimum size of a star, if placed in the place of our luminary, would cover the entire space to the orbit of Mars. Maximum - would correspond to the orbit of Jupiter. The mass of Betelgeuse is 13-17 times more solar.

The problems of studying

Alpha Orion is 300 million times the volume of the Sun. Its exact diameter is difficult to measure, because when you move away from the center of the star, its brightness slowly decreases. It is considered that if the distance to Betelgeuse is taken to be 650 light years, then its diameter varies from 500 to 800 corresponding parameters of our star.

Betelgeuse - the first after the Sun luminary, for which with the help of a space telescope could get the image of the disc. In the photo, the ultraviolet atmosphere of a star with a bright spot in the center was imprinted. Its dimensions exceed several dozen times the earth's diameter. The temperature of this section is much larger than on the rest of the surface of the cosmic body. The origin of the stain is still unknown. It is assumed that it is the result of the impact on the star atmosphere of a new physical phenomenon.

Leg of Orion

Rigel is the brightest star in the constellation of Orion. Constellations Hare and Eridan, adjacent to the heavenly image of a mythical hunter, are often identified in the sky by their close location to Rigel. Beta Orion, due to its brightness, serves as a guide for observers.

Rigel is a white and blue supergiant with a visual stellar magnitude of 0.12. The distance to the star from the Sun is about 860 light-years. The Beta Orion radius is inferior to the Betelgeuse parameter. In this case, the luminosity of Rigel is greater than that of our star, 130,000 times. On this parameter, he is ahead of Alpha Orion.

Like Betelgeuse, Rigel is a variable star. It is characterized by an irregular cycle of its value change from 0.3 to 0.03 with a period of about 24 days. Rigel is traditionally considered a triple star system. Sometimes he is credited with owning the fourth component. However, indisputable evidence of its existence has not yet been received.

Neighbor

With the Beta of Orion, the Nebula of the Witch Head is connected. Its form is really very similar to the head of a sorceress in a pointed hat. It is a reflective nebula, glowing due to the neighborhood with Rigel. In the photographs, the Head of the Witch has a bluish tint, since the particles of cosmic dust in the nebula's composition better reflect the blue light, and Rigel himself emits mainly in the blue part of the spectrum.

Evolution

Two bright stars in the constellation Orion will not always be so. Internal processes of both will sooner or later lead to fuel burn-up and, possibly, explosion - impressive sizes do not contribute to long-term existence. However, in our age they will be enough. According to forecasts Betelgeuse at least will shine for another two thousand years. Then it is waiting for a collapse and explosion. At the same time, its brightness will be comparable with the light of half or even the full moon. In another scenario, Betelgeuse will "calmly" turn into a white dwarf. In any case, at the end of the process for the earthly observer, Orion's shoulder will go out.

Rigel is also waiting for the fate to shine in the sky for a short time by an explosion of enormous power. By assumption, his rage will be comparable to the moon quarter.

Other Lights

Two bright stars in the constellation Orion are not the only clearly visible objects of this heavenly figure. The hunter's belt consists of three clearly visible from the Earth luminaries. These are Mintaka (Orion Delta), Alnitak (Zeta) and Alnilam (Epsilon). On the left shoulder of the hunter is Bellatrix (Gamma Orion), the third brightest point in the constellation. Its luminosity exceeds solar in 4 thousand times. Among the stars available for observation with the naked eye, Bellatrix is distinguished by a significant surface heating. Its temperature is estimated at 21 500º K.

Nebulae and black hole

Two more bright stars in the constellation Orion are just below the Belt and refer to the Hunter's Sword. This is Theta and Iota Orion. Between them, a third object is noticeable, which, by ignorance, can also be attributed to the number of stars. However, this is the Great Orion Nebula, which seems to be a small, blurry spot from Earth. New luminaries are constantly being born here. Immediately there is supposedly the closest to the Earth black hole, by mass exceeding the Sun 100 times.

Not less than M42, the Torch and the Horsehead Nebula are also famous, also located in the constellation Orion. The first is really similar to the flames, rising above the fire, for which it received its name. The Horsehead Nebula also justifies the name in the form. The images clearly show the silhouette of the horse. It seems as if she is about to jump further. Horsehead refers to reflective nebulae: in itself, it does not emit light. The ability to admire it is provided by the background IC 434. It illuminates the dark neighbor.

On numerous photographs of telescopes, the constellation Orion is often seen. Interesting objects: stars, nebulae, clouds of gas and cosmic dust - amaze with their beauty in the photographs. However, and from the Earth the silhouette of the hunter seems no less impressive. Such an abundance of bright and accessible objects for observation with the naked eye is not typical, perhaps, for no more celestial images.

Those wishing to see all the beauties that the mythical hunter hides can take advantage of numerous resources on astronomy that allow studying including the constellation Orion: "Astragalaxy", Google Sky star map , Google Earth service.