Orion (Ori)
"The Hunter"

---

---

Mythology:  Despite the overwhelming popularity and easily-recognized shape of Orion the Hunter, the mythology concerning this constellation is actually very difficult.  In fact, it is the figure's easily-seen shape that makes the history of Orion difficult to outline, because Orion appears in many stories and many cultures.  For example, the ancient Sumerians saw Orion as their Light of Heaven, called Uru-anna (associated with Gilgamesh), fighting the Bull of Heaven, Gut-anna (obviously seen by the ancient Greeks as Taurus the Bull).  Today, Orion is pictured holding a club over his head and holding a lion's skin in front of him (although some stories turn the club into a sword and the pelt into a shield).
    According to classical mythology, Orion was the son of Poseidon (Neptune), the God of the Sea, and Euryale, the daughter of King Minos of Crete.  Some claim that Orion was so tall he could walk across the sea and keep his head above water, while others claim he was actually able to walk on water.  Orion had the reputation of being a womanizer; two of his exploits with women are well-known:
    1)  After failing to impress Merope (daughter of King Oenopion), Orion got drunk and tried to force himself on her.  Because he was awkward from drink, he was unsuccessful, and Oenopion had Orion blinded and banished.  Orion appealed to Hephaestus (God of the Forge) for mercy, and his eyesight was returned by the light of the sunrise.
    2)  The other story is more fun because we can actually see the account of it in the sky:  While out hunting one day, Orion got lost in the forest.  After wandering for days, he finally stumbled upon a pond, where he was able to quench his thirst.  When he looked up, he noticed seven sisters also swimming in the pond.  It is said Orion fell in love with them, although some accounts claim it was the mother of the seven sisters, Pleione, that he fell in love with.  At this point accounts of Orion's exploits with the seven sisters vary.  I offer the account that includes several figures in the night sky:  Orion followed the sisters home, and tried to convince them to be his.  They, of course, refused him.  So, when it got dark, Orion broke into their home, kidnapped one of the sisters, and ran into the forest.  As he ran, he could hear the other sisters following him.  When he could no longer hear himself being followed, he slowed down and tripped and dropped the sister he kidnapped, who was still wrapped in her blanket.  When he pulled the blanket off of her, there was nothing but a rotten old skeleton.  What happened?  Well, it seems that Zeus had made a deal with these sisters -- they could keep their beauty forever as long as they were never separated.  When Orion kidnapped the sister, they became separated and returned to their original age of over one thousand years old.  When Zeus discovered what Orion had done, Zeus punished him by placing him in the stars so everyone would look upon Orion with shame.  Zeus also gave the seven sisters back their original beauty and put them in the night sky, just out of Orion's reach, so he would be forced to pursue them forever across the night sky.  Orion can to this day be seen pursuing the seven sisters, which is the open star cluster called the Pleiades.  We can incorporate other figures as well, such as Taurus the Bull, placed by Zeus to protect the Pleiades from Orion (in some lesser accounts) and Canis Major and Canis Minor, Orion's two hunting dogs, faithfully behind their master helping Orion get past Taurus (again, in lesser accounts).
    Orion's death is also an interesting story.  The most common and popular story says Orion was killed by Scorpius the Scorpion.  It is interesting because when Scorpius rises in the East, Orion is setting in the West, which has been interpreted as Scorpius' victory over Orion.  Why was Scorpius pursuing Orion?  Again, there are several accounts.  One version claims that Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, sent the Scorpion after Orion because he was such a skilled hunter that he was destroying all the animal life on Earth (a smaller version of this story claims Orion also tried to have his way with Artemis, and she sent Scorpius for revenge.  (Will Orion ever learn how to treat a lady?).  Other stories say it was Mother Earth, Gaia (mother of Zeus), who sent Scorpius to kill Orion to help save the animals from him.
    Now, if Orion sets when Scorpius rises, representing the success of Scorpius, wouldn't the fact that when Scorpius sets and Orion is rising represent some kind of victory for Orion?  It does, for our story isn't finished yet.  After Orion was killed by the sting of Scorpius, he was revived by Asclepius, the God of Healing (see:  the constellation Ophiuchus).  So, when Orion is rising triumphantly in the East, Scorpius is setting in the West having been crushed by the heel of Ophiuchus, the constellation that honors Asclepius.
    Think we're finished with Orion?  Hardly.  There is one other story of Orion that is worth mentioning, both because it accounts for his final death and because it shows a completely opposite picture of Orion and Artemis than the one above.  This story claims that Orion was to be wedded to Artemis, but her brother, Apollo, was against the wedding.  Knowing if he killed Orion himself he would never get his sister's forgiveness, Apollo hatched another plan.  Knowing that Artemis was one of the best archers in the land, Apollo placed Orion way out at sea.  He then challenged Artemis to see if she could hit that target floating far off where the sea meets the horizon.  Artemis hit the "target" with one shot, and when she discovered that she killed her betrothed she was so stricken with grief that she placed Orion among the stars.
    Whew!

Other Interesting Sights:  Orion contains several objects of incredible interest.  Most notable is the Orion Complex, which include M42 (the Great Orion Nebula), M43 (the De Mairan Nebula), and M78 -- the brightest diffuse nebula in the sky (notice below how a dark band separates M42 from M43).  The Orion Complex is often referred to as the Great Orion Nebula as a whole, but we should remember the distinctions of its three parts.  This group of nebulae is located below the famous belt of Orion in the three stars that make up his knife.  The Trapezium Open Star Cluster is located within M42.  The Trapezium is also of great interest because the Hubble Space Telescope has photographed areas within the Trapezium called Proplyds -- location of star and planet formation.  This "Orion Nebula" is also notable because it can be seen with just your eyes on a clear night.
    Orion also contains the less-visible, but more stunning, Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33).  Here, we find a bright emission nebula (IC434) with a dark absorption nebula (a nebula made primarily of obscuring dust) swirling in front of the emission nebula to give a silhouette that resembles a horse's head.  The bright emission nebula is illuminated by the star Sigma Orionis, which is the second brightest star in the photo below.  The bright central star in the photo is Zeta Orionis, which is the easternmost star in the belt of Orion, and hence the general location of this nebula.
    Two of the stars within Orion have interesting names:  His right leg is marked by the star Rigel, often used by science fiction writers.  His upper left shoulder is the star called Betelgeuse (pronounced by people as "Beetle-juice").  Betelgeuse is a noticeable red color because it is a red supergiant star -- a star nearing the end of its life and may soon supernova.  To give you an idea of the immense size of Betelgeuse, if it were to replace our Sun, Betelgeuse would extend to the orbit of Jupiter!