Winter Constellations
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Winter Constellations *Orion *Canis Major *Monoceros *Canis Minor *Gemini *Auriga *Taurus *Eradinus *Lepus *Monoceros *Cancer *Lynx *Ursa Major *Ursa Minor *Draco *Camelopardalis *Cassiopeia *Cepheus *Andromeda *Perseus *Lacerta *Pegasus *Triangulum *Aries *Pisces *Cetus *Leo (rising) *Hydra (rising) *Canes Venatici (rising) Orion--Myth: Orion, the great hunter. In one myth, Orion boasted he would kill all the wild animals on the earth. But, the earth goddess Gaia, who was the protector of all animals, produced a gigantic scorpion, whose body was so heavily encased that Orion was unable to pierce through the armour, and was himself stung to death. His companion Artemis was greatly saddened and arranged for Orion to be immortalised among the stars. Scorpius, the scorpion, was placed on the opposite side of the sky so that Orion would never be hurt by it again. To this day, Orion is never seen in the sky at the same time as Scorpius. DSO’s ● ***M42 “Orion Nebula” (Neb) with Trapezium A stellar nursery where new stars are being born, perhaps a thousand stars. These are immense clouds of interstellar gas and dust collapse inward to form stars, mainly of ionized hydrogen which gives off the red glow so dominant, and also ionized greenish oxygen gas. The youngest stars may be less than 300,000 years old, even as young as 10,000 years old (compared to the Sun, 4.6 billion years old). 1300 ly. 1 ● *M43--(Neb) “De Marin’s Nebula” The star-forming “comma-shaped” region connected to the Orion Nebula. ● *M78--(Neb) Hard to see. A star-forming region connected to the Orion Nebula. Above belt stars. Close to NGC 2071. Looks like a ghost with glowing eyes. ● *NGC 2023 “Horsehead Nebula”--A region of dark dust against a bright nebula. It gets its name from its shape that resembles that of a horse head. The nebula is located just to the south of Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion's Belt. ● *NGC 2024 “Flame Nebula”--An emission nebula next to and illuminated by the blue supergiant star Alnitak located in Orion’s Belt. The Flame Nebula is within. ● *NGC 2169 “37 Cluster” (OC)--Located near Betelgeuse with about 30 stars. ● *NGC 1977 (OC)--faint nebulosity ● *NGC 1981 (OC)--seems to trace a bouncing ball Notable Stars ● *Rigel (blue supergiant,double star)--85,000 brighter than the Sun. Over the next few million years Rigel will expand to an even greater size as it becomes a red supergiant and may eventually explode as a supernova. 75x bigger than the sun in diameter. Use high power to find its companion. 773 ly SAO 131907 ● *Betelgeuse (red supergiant) Variable star. Much cooler than Rigel. Only 10 million years old, it burns its fuel extremely quickly, as a result it will exist for only a million years more, whereas our sun exists for billions of years. Betelgeuse is already near the end of its lifespan and is expected to explode as a supernova in the next million years. It’s one of the largest known stars at least the size of the orbits of Mars or Jupiter around the sun. 643 ly SAO 113271 ● *Bellatrix (deep blue star)--4x hotter than the sun and 6x as large. Very hot, it has shed its core and will evolve into an orange-giant star. 250 ly SAO 112740 2 Double Stars ● ***Theta 1 Orionis “Trapezium” (multiple stars) This stunning multiple star lies right at the center of the Orion Nebula M42. It's the middle star of the Sword of Orion. The Trapezium contains four bright, massive, young stars that twinkle in an attractive tiny area, recent products in the gas and dust cloud. Lots of faint stars, highly young and unstable lights, less than 100,000 years old. Ultraviolet radiation produced by the Trapezium stars super-heats the surrounding gas, making it fluoresce like the glowing gas in a neon bulb. The Trapezium was first sketched in 1656, and first photographed in 1880. SAO 132314 ● **Delta Orionis “Mintaka” (white-blue double star) This is the westernmost star of the Belt of Orion. It's a very wide double. It consists of a white main star and a much fainter blue component. SAO 132220 ● **Lambda Orionis “Meissa” (white-white double star) Collinder 69 is the large and loose cluster around this double star Lambda Ori. It's located at the top of the Orion figure. Together with the two Phi stars, it forms the head of the Hunter. The double itself is the last one in a line of three stars. Two white stars, maybe yellowish, can be glimpsed fairly close. SAO 112921 ● **Iota Orionis (white-blue double star) It's located 30' south of the Orion Nebula, just below the bottom of the sword. A blue little companion can be seen, considerably close to the brilliant white primary. At its SW lies Struve 747. SAO 132323 ● **Sigma Orionis (white-blue multiple stars) Sigma Ori is rather a quadruple, but a moderately separated double of a white primary and a blue fainter companion is the most conspicuous. Sigma Ori lies below the easternmost star of the Belt of Orion, the same area where you can find the Horsehead Nebula. SAO 132406 ● **Theta 2 Orionis (multiple stars)--Three stars in a line near Trapezium. SAO 132329 ● **Struve 747 (white-blue double star) SAO 132301 ● *Alnitak (white-blue double star)--Left belt star SAO 132444 Carbon Stars W Orionis SAO 112406 and BL Orionis SAO 9565 3 Canis Major--Myth: Canis Major represents the larger of Orion's two hunting dogs who accompany him as he hunts Lepus, the rabbit. In Greek mythology, the constellation represented the dog Laelaps, a gift from Zeus to Europa. The dog was famous for being the fastest in the world. DSO’s ● **M41 (OC) “The dog’s spot” (below Sirius) 100 stars. stars. 2300 ly ● **NGC 2362 (OC)--pretty, near star Tau Canis Major ● *NGC 2360 (OC)--wedge-shaped ● *NGC 2354 (OC)--looks like a slug making sharp turn Double Stars ● **Alpha Canis Majoris “Sirius” or “Dog Star” (blue-white double star) It is the brightest star in the sky. It comes from the Greek word meaning “scorching,” or “sparkling.” Among the ancient Romans, the hottest part of the year was associated with the rising of the Dog Star at dawn, a connection that survives in the expression “dog days.” Super close to Earth. 8.6 ly SAO 151881 ● **H3945 (145 G Canis Majoris) “Winter Alberio” (orange-blue double star) Here’s a gold and blue pair that rivals the much celebrated Albireo. Absolutely beautiful! SAO 173349 Carbon Stars ● W Canis Majoris SAO 152427 4 Monoceros--Myth: The Unicorn is one of 12 constellations named by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius based on observations by Dutch navigators. DSO’s ● **M50 (OC)--”Heart-Shaped Cluster”--An open cluster of 200 stars, it looks like connect-the-dots housefly. ● **NGC 2264 (Christmas Tree OC) ● **NGC 2301 (OC)--lovely! ● **NGC 2244 (OC) “Satellite Cluster”--within Rosette Nebula. ● **NGC 2237 (Neb) “Rosette” Nebula--hard to see Double Stars ● ***Beta Monocerotis (all blue triple star)--This surprising marvelous triple of three fully equal light blue stars, was first noticed in 1781. Two stars are closer in contact than the third one. It is located east of the most SE star of the Orion figure. ● **Epsilon Monocerotis (yellow-yellow double star)--A moderately close pair containing two unequally bright deep yellow stars, is located east of the most NE star of the Orion figure, Betelgeuse. Carbon Stars ● GY Monocerotis SAO 133825 ● RV Monoc SAO 114704 and V614 Monoc SAO 134049 5 Canis Minor--Myth: the smaller of Orion's two hunting dogs along with its larger neighbor, Canis Major. Canis Minor was sometimes associated with the Teumessian Fox, the beast that could not be outrun. Zeus turned the fox to stone along with its hunter, the dog Laelaps. Canis Minor is usually depicted on charts as a small dog standing on the back of Monoceros, the unicorn. Double Stars ● **Procyon--The name Procyon means "before the dog". The star got its name from the fact that is rises before Sirius, the dog star, in the constellation Canis Major. It is a binary star, the 8th brightest star in the sky. Earth. 11.4 ly ● *Struve 1103--This pair consists of a deep yellow main star and a considerably fainter bluish component, pretty close. It is located immediately W of the very bright Procyon. SAO 115532 Carbon Stars ● R Canis Minoris SAO 96548 6 Gemini--Myth: the twins Castor and Pollux, two Greek heroes who were among the men Jason led on his voyages on the Argo. They were actually half-brothers and not really twins. They shared the same mother, Leda, but had different fathers. Castor's father was a king of Sparta called Tyndareus, while the father of Pollux was Zeus himself. They are sometimes said to have been born from an egg, along with their twin sisters Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together, and they were transformed into the constellation Gemini. DSO’s ● **M35 (OC) beautiful--A fine open cluster of about 100 stars that can easily be observed with binoculars. Near NGC 2158 (fuzzy, hard to see) ● **NGC 2392 (Eskimo Neb) Hard to see. Use averted vision Notable Stars ● **Pollux (orange giant star) 34 ly SAO 79666 Double Stars ● ***Castor (white-blue multiple star) SAO 60198 ● **Delta Geminorum (yellow-purple double star) SAO 79294 ● **15 Gemini (white-blue double star) Next to the orange primary stands a fainter light blue companion, widely detached.