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What Are the Main Stars of Orion and Their Magnitudes?

In Greek mythology Orion is a hunter who was placed among the stars. Astronomers have explored the constellation of Orion extensively and discovered a variety of stars in the system, including a binary star system--that is, two stars close together, orbiting each other. Some of the other stars in the constellation are far larger than our sun and produce much more light. Studying the constellation will add to your understanding of stars in general and how they are dispersed in our galaxy.

Alpha Orionis, Betelgeuse
- Alpha Orionis, also known as Betelgeuse, is about 650 light years away (A light year is the distance light travels in one year--about 6 trillion miles.). It is located in the left shoulder of Orion. Its apparent magnitude is .8, making it the eighth brightest star as visible from Earth. The magnitude scale starts in the negative numbers, meaning a very bright star, and moves to positive numbers for dimmer stars. The higher the number, the dimmer the star. Betelgeuse is a red super giant, making it the largest type of star. An interesting fact about Betelgeuse is that it expands and contracts. When contracted, it is about 700 times the diameter of our sun. When expanded, it is about 1,000 times bigger in diameter than our sun.
Beta Orionis, Rigel
- Beta Orionis, otherwise known as Rigel, is about 773 light years away. Rigel is located in Orion's right foot. Rigel has an apparent magnitude of .12, making it the sixth brightest star in Earth's sky. Rigel is a blue super giant, meaning it is about 55,000 times brighter than the sun. Rigel has a small blue star next to it, making the system a binary star. Because of the gravitational field of each star, they cannot separate, but rather are caught in each other's fields, and they orbit each other. The companion star has a magnitude of 6.7, making it a very dim star.
Gamma Orionis, Bellatrix
- Gamma Orionis, also known as Bellatrix, is a 1.64 magnitude star about 300 light years away. It is located in Orion's right shoulder and is a blue super giant, about 4,000 times brighter than our sun. It is also about 10 times heavier than the sun. Bellatrix is surrounded by a gas atmosphere, indicating it is ejecting its material into space.
Delta Orionis, Mintaka
- Delta Orionis, otherwise known as Mintaka, is located on Orion's right waistline area. It is a 2.41 magnitude star, being a distance of 916 light years away. Mintaka is also a binary star; the companion star's magnitude is 6.7. Mintaka is another blue giant, meaning it is far bigger than our sun.
Kappa Orionis, Saiph
- Kappa Orionis, also known as Saiph, is a magnitude 2.07 star, being a distance of 720 light years away from Earth. It lies in Orion's left foot. Saiph is also a blue super giant. According to "Science Daily Magazine," blue super giants are rare and have relatively short life cycles.

Astronomy