
It represents the mythical hunter Orion, who is often depicted in star maps as either facing the charge of Taurus, the bull, pursuing the Pleiades sisters, represented by the famous open cluster, or chasing after the hare ( constellation Lepus) with his two hunting dogs, represented by the nearby constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor.
What is Orion known for?
Orion has been known since ancient times. The constellation is also known as the Hunter, as it is associated with one in Greek mythology.
How long did Orion chase the Pleiades?
Orion chased Pleione, the mother of the Pleiades, for seven years, until Zeus intervened and raised all of them to the stars. In Works and Days, Orion chases the Pleiades themselves. Canis Minor and Canis Major are his dogs, the one in front is called Procyon.
Who was Orion's father?
This version is known through the work of Eratosthenes on the constellations, who gives a fairly long summary of Hesiod's episode on Orion. According to this version, Orion was likely the son of the sea-god Poseidon and Euryale, daughter of Minos, King of Crete.
Who gave Orion a horse?
One scholion, on a Latin poem, explains that Hephaestus gave Orion a horse. Giovanni Boccaccio cites a lost Latin writer for the story that Orion and Candiope were son and daughter of Oenopion, king of Sicily.

Who is Orion fighting in the sky?
In the sky, Orion is depicted facing the snorting charge of neighbouring Taurus the bull, yet the myth of Orion makes no reference to such a combat. However, the constellation originated with the Sumerians, who saw in it their great hero Gilgamesh fighting the Bull of Heaven.
Who chases Orion?
the scorpionAs the stars move – it will always look as though the scorpion is chasing Orion. The legend of Scorpius and Orion has many different versions – the above is one of them.
Is Orion in love with Artemis?
Night after night, the winged horses pulled the moon and Artemis from east to west across the sky. When clouds weren't blocking her view, Artemis gazed down on Orion as he roamed around his deserted island, and she fell in love with him.
Who is the enemy of Orion?
the scorpionSo Orion dominates the winter sky, while his mortal enemy, the scorpion, rules the nights of summer.
Why does Scorpio Chase Orion?
Scorpio attacked Orion and stung him with his stinger. As a reward for his bravery and for saving the lives of all of the animals, Gaia placed Scorpio in the night sky. He is seen chasing Orion across the sky during the year.
Who was Orion in love with?
MeropeHe is associated with the island of Chios, from which he is said to have driven the wild beasts. There he fell in love with Merope, daughter of the king of Chios, Oenopion. The king, who disapproved of Orion and continually deferred the nuptials, eventually had Orion blinded.
Who did Artemis turn into a girl?
The story of Sipriotes, a young boy who saw the goddess bathing; Artemis turned him into a girl (Atsma). "Being associated with chastity, Artemis at an early age (in one legend she was three years old) asked her father, the great god Zeus, to grant her eternal virginity.
Does Artemis fall in love?
Istrus wrote a version in which Artemis fell in love with Orion, apparently the only person she ever did. She meant to marry him, and no talk from her brother Apollo would change her mind.
Who is Apollo in love with?
DaphneThe sharp, gold-tipped arrow pierced the heart of Apollo inflaming his love for Daphne, a beautiful nymph, daughter of the river god Peneus, while the blunt, lead-tipped arrow struck the nymph creating an intense aversion for love in the her heart.
Why was Apollo jealous of Orion?
He then summaries: Apollo's jealousy of Orion seems motivated by his own love for Artemis. Make of this how you will, but one interpretation is that: Her brother, Apollo, was jealous of Artemis' love for Orion, a great hunter . . .
Why is Orion so important?
Why is Orion so Important? Orion is one of the most fascinating and important constellations in the night sky. One reason that astronomers find it so compelling, is that it contains one of the nearest and most active stellar nurseries in the Milky Way Galaxy (the Orion Nebula).
Who was the ugliest god?
HephaestusHephaestus. Hephaestus is the son of Zeus and Hera. Sometimes it is said that Hera alone produced him and that he has no father. He is the only god to be physically ugly.
Who is Orion in love with?
In one myth, Orion fell in love with the Pleiades, the seven sisters, daughters of Atlas and Pleione. He started pursuing them and Zeus scooped them up and placed them in the sky. The Pleiades are represented by the famous star cluster of the same name, located in the constellation Taurus.
Who is Orion in mythology?
In Hungarian mythology, Orion is identified with Nimrod, a famous hunter and father of Hunor and Magor, the two twins also known as Hun ad Hungarian. In Scandinavian tradition, the constellation is associated with the goddess Freya and called Frigg’s Distaff (Friggerock), after the tool she used for spinning.
How far apart are the stars in the Orionis system?
Unlike most binary and multiple stars that share the same Bayer designation, the stars in the Pi Orionis system are fairly wide apart . Pi-1 Orionis and Pi-6 Orionis are separated by almost nine degrees.
How far away is Chi 1 Orionis?
Chi-1 Orionis is a main sequence dwarf, only 28 light years distant from Earth. It belongs to the spectral type G0V and has an apparent magnitude of 4.39. It has a faint red dwarf for a companion, with an orbital period of 14.1 years.
How many light years away is Phi Orionis?
Phi Orionis refers to two star systems in Orion, Phi-1 Orionis and Phi-2 Orionis, separated by 0.71° degrees. Phi-1 Orionis is a double star approximately 1,000 light years distant. The main component is a main sequence star belonging to the spectral type B0, with an apparent magnitude of 4.39.
What did Hephaestus do to Orion?
Hephaestus felt sorry for the blind, wandering Orion and offered one of his assistants to guide the hunter and act as his eyes.
Where is the Orion Nebula?
The Orion Nebula, or Messier 42, is a diffuse emission reflection nebula located south of the three stars that form Orion’s Belt. Sometimes it is also called the Great Nebula or the Great Orion Nebula. The nebula is one of the brightest ones in the sky and can be seen without binoculars. It has a visual magnitude of 4.0 and is 1,344 light years distant from Earth. To the naked eye, the Orion Nebula appears as the slightly blurry central “star” in Orion’s Sword, south of Orion’s Belt.
Who was Orion's admirer?
The Goddess Artemis, who was Orion’s admirer, requested that Orion be honored in the same way. Zeus obliged, placing them on opposite ends of the night sky; Scorpio can still be seen today, endlessly chasing Orion across the night sky.
Who killed Orion?
When Orion boasted to the Goddess Artemis , daughter of Zeus, that he would kill every animal on earth, Gaia, the Goddess of the Earth, sent Scorpius to kill Orion. A great battle ensued which saw the demise of Orion.
When do we see the Hunter and Orion?
What is particularly special about this time of year is that it’s the only time we can see these two constellations in the sky at the same time. For the southern hemisphere summer months of November to May Orion (The Hunter) hangs prominently overhead in the evenings.
What is the change in the seasons at Londolozi?
Written by Rob Jeffery: At Londolozi, we’re beginning to see a change of the seasons. The days are getting shorter and cooler as the sun starts to take a lower bow through the sky, not reaching its usual summer time peak at midday. The mornings are getting chilly and the air is drying out.
When did Rob join Londolozi?
Rob joined the Londolozi team at the start of 2017. Having grown up on a farm in the Cape and spending many holidays traveling Southern Africa he developed a love for the outdoors and an appreciation for the natural world. After completing a ...
Why is the star of Ares called the "Rival to Mars"?
Its name is believed to mean “Rival to Ares” (“Rival to Mars”) because of its similar red colour and because it follows the same path across the sky. This is a truly an enormous star and if placed at the center of our solar system, its surface would extend beyond the orbit of Mars.
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What constellations does Orion chase?
He connects Orion with several constellations, not just Scorpio. Orion chased Pleione, the mother of the Pleiades, for seven years, until Zeus intervened and raised all of them to the stars. In Works and Days, Orion chases the Pleiades themselves.
Who is Orion in Greek mythology?
In Greek mythology, Orion ( / əˈraɪən /; Ancient Greek: Ὠρίων or Ὠαρίων; Latin: Orion) was a giant huntsman whom Zeus (or perhaps Artemis) placed among the stars as the constellation of Orion .
Why did Orion walk on the waves?
Orion could walk on the waves because of his father; he walked to the island of Chios where he got drunk and attacked Merope, daughter of Oenopion, the ruler there. In vengeance, Oenopion blinded Orion and drove him away. Orion stumbled to Lemnos where Hephaestus —the smith-god—had his forge.
What are the names of Orion's dogs?
A Renaissance mythographer adds other names for Orion's dogs: Leucomelaena, Maera, Dromis, Cisseta, Lampuris, Lycoctonus, Ptoophagus, Arctophonus.
How did Artemis kill Orion?
There are two versions where Artemis killed Orion, either with her arrows or by producing the Scorpion. In the second variant, Orion died of the Scorpion's sting as he does in Hesiod. Although Orion does not defeat the Scorpion in any version, several variants have it die from its wounds.
Where is Orion in the Roman art?
Orion is also seen on a 4th-century bas-relief, currently affixed to a wall in the Porto neighborhood of Naples.
Where is the Fountain of Orion?
The Fountain of Orion, in Messina, Italy. Orion also has etiological connection to the city of Messina in Sicily.
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Facts, Location and Map
Orion Mythology
- In Greek mythology, the hunter Orion was the most handsome of men. He was the son of the sea god Poseidon and Euryale, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. In Homer’s Odyssey, Orion is described as exceptionally tall and armed with an unbreakable bronze club. In one myth, Orion fell in love with the Pleiades, the seven sisters, daughters of Atlas and Pleione. He started pursuing t…
Major Stars in Orion
- Rigel – β Orionis
Rigel is the brightest star in the constellation. With an apparent magnitude of 0.18, it is also the sixth brightest star in the sky. Even though it does not have the designation alpha, it is almost always brighter than Betelgeuse, Alpha Orionis. Rigel is really a star system composed of three s… - Betelgeuse – α Orionis
Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in Orion and the eighth brightest star in the sky. It is a red supergiant, belonging to the spectral class M2lab. The suffix -ab indicates that Betelgeuse is classified as an intermediate luminous supergiant, one not as bright as others such as Deneb in …
Deep Sky Objects in Orion
- Orion Molecular Cloud Complex
The Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, or simply the Orion Complex, is comprised of a large group of dark clouds, bright emission and reflection nebulae, dark nebulae, H II regions (large clouds showing recent star forming activity) and young stars in the constellation Orion. The Orion Com… - Orion Nebula – Messier 42
The Orion Nebula, or Messier 42, is a diffuse emission reflection nebula located south of the three stars that form Orion’s Belt. Sometimes it is also called the Great Nebula or the Great Orion Nebula. The nebula is one of the brightest ones in the sky and can be seen without binoculars. It …