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Orion on Film
| Title |
Orion on Film |
| Explanation |
Orion [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/ Orion.html ], the Hunter, is one of the most easily recognizable constellations [ http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/Puzzles/Connect/ Connect.asp ] in planet Earth's night sky [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021115.html ]. But Orion's stars [ http://www.gb.nrao.edu/~rmaddale/Education/OrionTourCenter/ optical.html ] and nebulae [ http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Student_Work/Astronomy95/ orionpleiades.html ] don't look quite as colorful [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961202.html ] to the eye as they do in this lovely photograph, taken last month from Vekol Ranch south of Phoenix [ http://www.psiaz.com/polakis/azsites/azsites.html ], Arizona, USA. The celestial scene [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021225.html ] was recorded in a five minute time exposure using high-speed color print film and a 35mm camera mounted [ http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/I07/ I0702/I0702.HTM ] on a small telescope. In the picture, cool red giant Betelgeuse [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/betelgeuse.html ] takes on a yellowish tint as the brightest star at the upper left. Otherwise Orion's hot blue stars are numerous, with supergiant Rigel [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/ rigel.html ] balancing Betelgeuse at the lower right, Bellatrix [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/ hr/1790.html ] at the upper right, and Saiph [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/ hr/2004.html ] at the lower left. Lined up in Orion's belt [ http://www.gb.nrao.edu/~rmaddale/Education/ OrionTourCenter/belt.html ] (left to right) are Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka all about 1,500 light-years away, born of the constellation's well studied interstellar clouds [ http://www.seds.org/messier/more/oricloud.html ]. And if the middle "star" of Orion's sword looks reddish and fuzzy to you, it should. It's the stellar nursery known as the Great Nebula of Orion [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021220.html ]. |
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