December 14, Focus on stars Betelgeuse and Rigel in Orion
Posted By admin On December 13, 2010 @ 8:42 pm In Earth & Sky | Comments Disabled
Courtesy of EarthSky
A Clear Voice for Science
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www.EarthSky.org [1]
[2]
[3]Orion the Hunter is one of the most prominent constellations in all the heavens. You cannot fail to spot Orion’s Belt – three medium-bright stars in a short, straight row – if you look eastward in the evening. The magnificent Orion Nebula [4], or M42, is a fuzzy patch in Orion’s Sword.
Most constellations have only one bright star, but Orion has two: Rigel and Betelgeuse. Rigel [5] is Orion’s left foot. A blue-white supergiant and one of the most luminous stars known, it is nearly 800 light-years away. If it were as close as Sirius, the brightest star visible to the eye (and only about 8.6 light-years away), Rigel would shine much more brilliantly than Venus, our sky’s brightest planet.
Betelgeuse [6] – the other bright star in Orion – is the Hunter’s right shoulder. A red supergiant, Betelgeuse is no slouch of a star either. In fact, if Betelgeuse replaced the sun in our solar system, its outer layers would extend past Earth and Mars and to nearly the orbit of Jupiter.
[7]Written by Deborah Byrd [8]
Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA/JPL [9]
CHANDRA Photo Album [10]
U.S. Naval Observator Astronomical Information cente [11]r
Universe Today [12]
StarDate Online [13]
Sky and Telescope [14]
National Geographic [15]
Space Com [16]
Simostronomy Blog [17]
Amazing Space [18]
The York County Astronomical Society [19]
Scope City [20]
Article printed from Recorder Online: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com
URL to article: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com/2010/12/13/december-14-focus-on-stars-betelgeuse-and-rigel-in-orion/
URLs in this post:
[1] www.EarthSky.org: http://www.EarthSky.org
[2] Image: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/phase14.gif
[3] Image: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/10dec14.jpg
[4] Orion Nebula: http://earthsky.org/tonightpost/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/orion-nebula-jewel-in-orions-sword
[5] Rigel: http://earthsky.org/tonightpost/brightest-stars/blue-white-rigel-is-orions-brightest-star
[6] Betelgeuse: http://earthsky.org/tonightpost/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday
[7] Image: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/deborahbyrd.thumbnail1.png
[8] Deborah Byrd: http://earthsky.org/author/deborahbyrd/
[9] Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA/JPL: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/
[10] CHANDRA Photo Album: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/
[11] U.S. Naval Observator Astronomical Information cente: http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/astronomical-information-center/astronomical-information-center
[12] Universe Today: http://www.universetoday.com/
[13] StarDate Online: http://stardate.org/
[14] Sky and Telescope: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
[15] National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/
[16] Space Com: http://www.space.com/nightsky/
[17] Simostronomy Blog: http://simostronomy.blogspot.com/
[18] Amazing Space: http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/tonights_sky/
[19] The York County Astronomical Society: http://www.ycas.org/tonights_sky.htm
[20] Scope City: http://www.scopecity.net/
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