Star Points for February, 2000; by Curtis Roelle Orion a.k.a. Old Man Winter. The king of winter constellations is unquestionably Orion the hunter. Orion is one of the hand full of constellations which, with some imagination, actually bear a resemblance what they are supposed to represent. One of the most recognizable features of Orion is the distinctive line of three equally spaced stars forming his belt. From left to right their names are Alnitak, Anilam, and Mintaka. The translations of these three Arabic names are "the girdle", "the string of pearls", and "the belt", respectively. Orion's left shoulder, as you are facing him, is marked by the star Betelgeuse (pronounced Bay-tel-jooz). Betelgeuse is the kind of star called a red supergiant. It's volume is estimated to be some 16 million times that of our sun. Betelgeuse is not only massive but very luminous shining with a brilliance 14,000 times brighter than the Sun. The brightest star in Orion, Betelgeuse has a noticeable golden- orange color to the human eye. The color is made even more apparent in a small telescope or binoculars. The name Betelgeuse is of Arabic origin whose translation is "armpit of the giant." Orion's right leg or knee, as you are facing him, is marked by the star Rigel (pronounced Rye-jel). Rigel is a blue supergiant star. Although Rigel's mass is two or three times that of Betelgeuse, it has a much smaller volume. Rigel's luminosity on the other hand is much greater than Betelgeuse with a light output some 57,000 time as bright as the Sun. Orion's second brightest star, Rigel is a cold bluish-white in color. Rigel is another Arabic name whose translation is "the foot." Even though Rigel is intrinsically brighter than Betelgeuse they appear similar in brightness. This is because Rigel is nearly twice as far away. Several of Orion's other stars also have proper names. Orion's other shoulder is Bellatrix, "the female warrior" also known as the "Amazon star." The star marking Orion's other knee is Saiph. Between and above the shoulders Betelgeuse and Bellatrix is Orion's head marked by the star Meissa. Orion has three stars hanging below the triple belt stars marking his sword. The center star Theta Orionis, the "Trapezium", is actually a multiple star when viewed through a telescope. Small telescopes will show four tightly grouped stars. Larger telescopes will show five, six, and sometimes even more stars. The Trapezium marks the location of another famous telescopic object, a nebulous cloud known as the great Orion Nebula. This cloud is quite a sight in small or medium sized telescopes. You can see even more stars in Orion from locations with a dark sky away from the washout effect of city lights. Starting at Betelgeuse two lines of stars extend upward and over Orion's head. These form am upraised club. With this club Orion appears to be ready to whack Taurus the bull where his horns and hide meet. In Orion's other outstretched arm is a curving row of stars forming a shield. The shield is made up of around a dozen stars visible to the unaided eye. When Orion rises from the southeastern horizon he appears to be laying down. By the time Orion is at his high point while transiting the meridian he is standing up. The best time to see Orion during February is 7:00 p.m. EST early in the month, 8:00 p.m. at mid month, and 9:00 p.m. in late February.