The Orion Constellation: Orion’s Belt, the 7 Brightest Stars, and How to Find It

Orion is the easiest constellation to find in the winter sky and one of the most-mythologized star patterns in human history. The three Belt stars form a near-perfect line of bright stars unmatched anywhere else in the sky. Betelgeuse (the red supergiant in Orion’s shoulder) is nearing the end of its life and may go supernova within the next 100,000 years. This guide is the mythology, the 7 named stars, the three deep-sky objects, and how to find Orion in any season.

How to Find Orion (Anywhere, Any Season)

Per NASA and EarthSky’s Orion observation guide, four steps lead you to Orion every winter night.

• Look south. In the Northern Hemisphere, Orion sits in the southern sky between December and March.
• Look for the Belt. Three bright stars in a near-perfect line across the middle of the constellation. Unmistakable.
• Identify the corners. Rigel (blue-white, bottom-right corner). Betelgeuse (red-orange, top-left corner).
• Use the Belt as a pointer. Belt extended down-and-left points to Sirius (the brightest star in the sky). Belt extended up-and-right points to Aldebaran in Taurus.

Betelgeuse: the Red Supergiant Nearing the End

Per NASA Hubble and ground-based observations, Betelgeuse is one of the most-watched stars in the sky.

• Size. If Betelgeuse were our sun, its surface would extend out past Jupiter’s orbit. One of the largest known stars.
• Distance. About 650 light-years from Earth. Light reaching us now left Betelgeuse during the Black Plague era.
• Status. Red supergiant. In the final 100,000 years of its life. Will eventually go supernova.
• 2019 to 2020 dimming. Betelgeuse dimmed by about 60 percent during winter 2019-2020 (the Great Dimming), prompting speculation it might supernova within years. Subsequent observation found a dust cloud was responsible, not imminent collapse.
• When it supernovas: visible during the day for weeks. May be the brightest object in the night sky for years.

Orion Stars, Mythology, and Deep-Sky Objects (Detail)

Below are the original sections on Orion mythology, the Belt stars, the brightest stars, finding Orion, and the 3 deep-sky objects within it.

1) Orion Nebula

Hanging from the center star of Orion’s Belt are three “stars” that form a small sword. The middle of these three is not a star at all and appears to be a little fuzzy. This is the Orion Nebula, or M42, a huge mass of gas and dust 24 light-years wide that is an active stellar nursery.

When you zoom in with a telescope you can see the Orion Nebula is illuminated by several large stars in its center. The four brightest stars make a distinct diamond pattern and are called the Trapezium. At 1,344 light years away, the Orion Nebula is the closest large star-forming region with enough material to create about 2,000 suns.

2) Barnard’s Loop

A ghostly arc of gas that appears to encircle Orion’s waist is called Barnard’s Loop. Stretching about 150 light years in space and residing about 1,600 light years from Earth, astronomers believe this formation may be the result of a massive supernova explosion and is now lit by the stars forming in the Orion Nebula. Barnard’s Loop cannot be seen with the naked eye but only appears through long exposure photography.

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3) Horsehead Nebula

One of the most famous images in our galaxy is the Horsehead Nebula which lies just below Orion’s Belt star Alnitak. View an image of the Horsehead Nebula via Wikimedia Commons. The head shape is a silhouette made of dark material that blocks out the light of the more distant colorful gasses.

The pink clouds behind the formation are ionized hydrogen gasses that most likely come from Sigma Orionis, a small open cluster of stars. Although photographs make the Horsehead Nebula look stunning, at about 1,375 light years away, the picturesque image can only be seen through long exposure photography.

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Orion Constellation FAQ