Diagonally opposite Rigel is Betelgeuse a variable star , one of Orion's shoulders. It is a cool red-giant, possibly the largest star in our part of the Milky Way and is estimated to vary in size from the orbit of Mars to the orbit of Jupiter.
Across from Betelgeuse is Bellatrix the Amazon star , which is Orion's other shoulder. Check out our complete astronomy for beginners UK guide. To submit your questions email us at questions sciencefocus.
Home Space How to spot the Orion nebula. Abigail Beall Social networks. RISE —. PHASE —. Tonight's Sky — Change location. US state, Canadian province, or country. Tonight's Sky — Select location. Tonight's Sky — Enter coordinates. UTC Offset:. Picture of the Day Image Galleries. Watch : Mining the Moon for rocket fuel. Queen guitarist Brian May and David Eicher launch new astronomy book. Last chance to join our Costa Rica Star Party! The Orion Nebula — a formation of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases rather than a star — is the middle "star" in Orion's sword, which hangs off of Orion's Belt.
It is one of the brightest nebulae in the sky, according to NASA. The Horsehead Nebula is a tricky target to find, but it is not impossible. The nebula can be found just south of the easternmost star in Orion's Belt. The shape of the nebula is forged by radiation from the surrounding stars.
According to NASA, the nebula is only visible because the dust is silhouetted against a brighter nebula. The nebula was revealed to be a distinct nebula by French astronomer Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan in The Trapezium Cluster is a young star cluster and contains hundreds of young stars at various staged of formation. According to ESA , high-speed jets of hot gas released by some young stars are sending shockwaves through the nebula at speeds of , mph.
The cluster is easily located as the brightest four stars form the shape of a trapezoid. The constellation of the hunter has also proven a fertile hunting ground for extra-solar planets, or exoplanets , planets beyond the solar system. Here are a few of the planets or potential planets that have been discovered in stars that fall within Orion's boundaries in the Earth's sky.
The star CVSO 30 is 1, light-years away and likely hosts a couple of potential planets. CVSO 30c if it exists is a gas giant that orbits its star at a distance of astronomical units Earth-sun distances and makes an orbit every 27, years. The other candidate planet is gas giant CVSO 30b, which by contrast is extremely close — just 0.
A Jupiter-size potential exoplanet, PTFOb , is about 1, light-years from Earth and if it exists is so close to its star that its outer layers are being ripped away from the rest of the planet.
The star's system showed high-energy hydrogen emissions that can't be explained by stellar activities or features, according to astronomers.
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