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.

In Greek mythology, the constellation Orion is associated withstories of a beautiful young man. He was the son of the lord of the seas of Poseidon and the young oceanic 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.

Once he saw the beautiful daughter of King Enopion -ruler of Chios. Orion asked for the hands of the beautiful Merope, and her father gave his consent to the condition that a mighty hunter would rid their island of wild wild animals. Of course, the young man completed the assignment, but on his return to the tsar received a refusal. Arriving in a furious rage, he burst into the bedroom to the frustrated bride and took her by force. Requiring revenge, Enopion appealed to his father - the god Dionysus. When, having calmed down and drinking with satyrs, Orion fell sound asleep on the seashore, the cunning king blinded him, forcing his eyes. A lot of trials fell to the lot of the young man. Only when he reached the farthest shore of the mighty ocean, he regained his sight. In the same place, the beautiful goddess of dawn dawn Eos saw the mighty Orion and stole it in her chariot.

The constellation Orion is also associated with yet another myth. Once, hunting in the forest forest, Orion saw seven sisters of the Pleiades, the daughters of the giant Atlas. The ardent young man immediately fell in love without memory and tried to approach them. But the nymphs of Selena were extremely shy and fearful. And at the first attempt of the hunter to speak with them they ran away. Afraid that he would not see them again, Orion began the persecution, but the young pleiaders rushed around, until the forces left them. Then they prayed to their patron Selene. Heard their goddess and turned sisters into snow-white doves, placing them on the sky as a constellation of Pleiades.

There are several myths associated with deathmighty hunter. The constellation Orion tells of one of them. According to this legend, he was stung by a giant scorpion, called by the goddess Artemis, for the fact that during the hunt the brave youth dared to touch her ashloo. But the goddess Selene, who loved the young man, called to Zeus, and he took him to heaven, where to this day the mighty Orion hunts. The constellation of it never occurs on a heavenly slope with a giant scorpion.

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