One of the most beautiful clusters of stars is the Orion constellation. Since it is visible from almost any place in the world, the star cluster is renowned by stargazers and scientists. However, there are many reasons that make this constellation very important to astronomers.
Orion is a prominent cluster of stars visible during the winter in the northern skies. during the creation and update of the modern list of constellations, astronomers listed the stars as one of the most important in the list of 88 constellations. These are some of the reasons:
- The constellation boasts two of the ten brightest stars
- Is easily identified by a line of three stars, known as the Orion Belt
- The Orion belt has three supergiant stars that are much bigger than our sun, and millions of times brighter
- It features some famous nebulae and has one of the best asterisms in the universe
What Makes the Orion Constellation so Amazing?
Notably, Orion was discovered years ago by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy. At that time the scientists listed 48 constellations, most of which were included in the modern list. The constellation continues to amaze scientists even today.
One of the special marvels of Orion is its Orionoids which are closely associated with Haley’s comet. These clusters of stars generate huge meteor showers that have no comparisons. Scientists believe that it may be the biggest continual shower.
On a similar note is the famous Nebula which is an extremely brilliant nebula in the constellation’s belt. A nebula is a huge cloud made up of gas and dust. They give the idea of millions of fireflies. Nebula is one of the brightest recorded to date.
Another amazing feature of this star cluster is its location. Orion is ideally located between Taurus, Eridanus, Lepus to the south, Monoceros on its eastern sideboard, and Gemini. This makes it the 26th largest on the constellation list of 88. The existing boundaries of Orion were established by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930.
In addition, the constellation can be seen throughout the year within different hemispheres. The best time to star gaze at Orion is the evening time sky from January to April. However, in the Northern Hemisphere, this switches to winter, and summer in the Southern regions.
From May to July, the constellation is visible during the daytime sky. Even though Antarctica is usually in winter with less sunlight.
The Orion Belt is an amazing star cluster and one of the key parts of the Orion constellation. With all its wonders, astronomers have much to research as technology advances.
