Astronomy Cast 2.2: Orion (Episode 224)

The constellation Orion can be found in the winter sky.  Orion was a hunter, and he had a battle with Scorpius, the scorpion.  They both died and were put into the heaven,s but on opposite sides of the sky.  Scorpio is up high in the sky six months before Orion is up high in the sky.  Historians are not sure they had the story first, and then they mapped it back to the stars, or is someone pictures the stars, and then they came up with the story.  Despite this discrepancy, the story is accepted and people enjoy to identify the constellation--it is very well known.  In the constellation are two important stars: Betelgeuse, a red super giant star, and Rigel a hotter, younger star that appears blue.  All the stars in the constellation have ranging differences in distance from the Earth, but because they are all different sizes too, they appear the same brightness.  This change arrangement of stars is a lucky one!