Nikki Anderson Case

ORION

SCI 224-10067

Prepared by

Nikki Anderson

October 13, 2013

Introduction

The constellation Orion has always held an interest for me. I can remember as a young child always going outside at night and searching for Orion in the sky and as an adult I still catch myself subconsciously looking up scanning the night sky for it. I am unsure as to why I am so drawn to this particular constellation except for it seems to always be the one I have no trouble finding and I can remember learning about it in school.

I will be discussing a few different aspects of Orion. We will first start with a little mythology. I will discuss a couple different stories involving Orion and how the constellation came to be. From here we will go into a more scientific discussion on the stars that make up Orion as well as the nebula and molecular cloud of the constellation.

As this paper comes to a close maybe I will have a better knowledge as to why I am drawn to this constellation and maybe you will become drawn to this constellation and all it is as well.

The Constellation

The Orion constellation is a constellation that is typically easy to find, if not by the four stars that appear somewhat like a rectangle then by the three stars that make up the belt.

The stories behind the constellation

There are several myths involving the constellation Orion. The first one I ever heard had to do with Artemis. Artemis had fallen in love with Orion. Her brother wanted to make sure she kept her vows of chastity. He dared her to hit a small target in the distance that she could not make out but he knew was Orion. As she was the goddess of hunting, she hit her target. She was so heartbroken over his death she put him among the stars.

There are many myths that have Orion dying from a scorpion. One is Orion bragged to the goddess Artemis and her mother Leto that he could kill any beast on earth. The Earth Goddess heard him and sent a scorpion, which stung the giant to death.

Another version is that he tried to force himself on Artemis and she was the one who sent the scorpion. A third states Orion was stung while trying to save Leto from the scorpion. Every one of these myths end the same though. Orion and the scorpion were placed on opposite sides of the sky, so that when the constellation Scorpius rises in the sky, Orion sets below the horizon in the west, fleeing from the scorpion. (Constellation Guide, 2013)

In Sumerian mythology, Orion is thought to be their hero fighting the bull of heaven, Taurus (Constellation Guide, 2013). In the sky Orion is facing Taurus.

What makes Orion

The constellation of Orion consists of several stars. One star is Orion's head, three make up Orion's belt, five stars create his torso from shoulders to legs, there are two stars that create a sword hanging from his belt, five create his shield and four stars