Orion Belt Definition

The constellation Orion or Orion Nebula is one of the most famous constellations of the cosmos. It is a group of stars that can be identified with relative ease, especially if it is observed from some point of the northern hemisphere.

Orion's belt looks similar to a hunter's belt

This constellation presents three main stars in a row as if it were a belt (Mintaka, Ainilam and Alnitak) and the set of stars that make it up resemble a human figure with open arms and at the end of one of them appears a shield. The legs of the Orion figure are made up of two stars, Saiph and Rigel. The shoulders, also known as the hunter's shoulders, are made up of Betelgeuse and Bellatrix. Simulating the head is Meissa.

In this way, if the lines of the different stars of Orion come together, one can distinguish the silhouette of a hunter wearing a belt in the middle of his body.

The visual phenomenon that compares the distribution geometric of some stars with figures human or animal is known as asterism.

Orion's belt has a similarity to the position of the pyramids of Egypt

The distribution of the stars has fascinated humanity since the most ancient times. In this sense, the belt of Orion and its different denominations (the Three Wise Men or the Three Marys) calls the attention because the inclination of its three stars resembles the inclination of the three pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

The story of the son of a God

In the stories of Greek mythology Orion is one of the sons of the God Poseidon and Euriale. Orion was a hunter with a proud character, Moody and unkind. One day he fell in love with a princess and decided to talk to his father to ask for the hand of his daughter. The father told him that he could marry if he showed his courage and he proposed that she kill the animals they put in danger the kingdom of him.

Orion killed all the wild beasts and went to meet the king, but he had escaped with his daughter, since all he wanted was to deceive Orion and kill the beasts. Orion was so angered by the deception that he began hunting all the animals that he found in his path. Faced with this situation, the goddess Gaia, the mother Earth, she tried to get Orion to stop hunting indiscriminately, but he ignored her.

The goddess Gaea sent a scorpion to speak to Orion, but the proud hunter trampled on the animal and ended up being poisoned by its sting. Sick And hurt Orion went to ask Zeus for help and the god of the gods made the hunter and some animals go to live forever in heaven. However, Zeus did something else, send the scorpion to the skies alongside Orion.

Photos: Fotolia - ddemartin / procy_ab