Constellation, Hunter
Orion
The giant hunter of Greek myth, with bright Betelgeuse and Rigel and a famous belt of three stars. It is one of the oldest constellations and one of the easiest to recognise.
From New York on October 13, 2026, the centre of Orion rises at 10:43 PM, is highest at 4:57 AM (53° above the horizon in the S) and sets at 11:10 AM.
In the 3D sky
The sky over New York turned towards Orion. Drag to look around.
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Evening visibility over the year
Height of the constellation’s centre above the horizon at 10 pm local time on the 15th of each month, from New York. Above about 30° it is well placed.
Name and history
Orion is among the few star groups named by the earliest Greek writers, Homer and Hesiod. In myth he was the son of the sea god Poseidon, a giant hunter with a bronze club. His dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, follow him, and the hare Lepus crouches at his feet. Stories of his death differ. In one version, he boasted he could kill any beast, and the Earth sent a scorpion that stung him. Orion and the scorpion were set on opposite sides of the sky, so Orion sets as Scorpius rises. In another, Artemis shot him by mistake, tricked by her brother Apollo.
In the sky Orion faces Taurus the bull, a fight that Greek myth does not explain. The figure goes back to the Sumerians, who saw their hero Gilgamesh fighting the Bull of Heaven. Betelgeuse comes from Arabic for ‘the hand of al-Jauza’, a female figure the Arabs saw here. It does not mean ‘armpit’, as is often claimed. Rigel means ‘foot’. Below the belt hangs the Orion Nebula, a cloud where new stars are forming.
Sources: Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Orion, Ian Ridpath, Star Tales: Orion (part 2)
Brightest stars
| Star | Designation | Magnitude | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigel | β Ori | 0.18 | 863 light-years |
| Betelgeuse | α Ori | 0.45 | 498 light-years |
| Bellatrix | γ Ori | 1.64 | 252 light-years |
| Alnilam | ε Ori | 1.69 | 1,977 light-years |
| Alnitak | ζ Ori | 1.74 | 736 light-years |
| Saiph | κ Ori | 2.07 | 647 light-years |
| Mintaka | δ Ori | 2.25 | 693 light-years |
| Hatysa | ι Ori | 2.75 | 2,330 light-years |
| Tabit | π3 Ori | 3.19 | 26 light-years |
| η Ori | η Ori | 3.35 | 977 light-years |
Facts
| Area | about 597 square degrees (26 of 88) |
|---|---|
| IAU abbreviation | Ori |
| Sky | Near the celestial equator, visible from both hemispheres |
| Origin | One of the 48 constellations listed in Ptolemy’s Almagest, about AD 150 |
| Stars brighter than magnitude 5 | 50 |
| Centre (J2000) | 5.5 h, 3° |
Deep-sky objects
Galaxies, clusters and nebulae brighter than magnitude 9, from the OpenNGC catalogue. Most need binoculars or a telescope and a dark sky.
| Object | Type | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| NGC1980 · Lower Sword | Cluster with nebula | 2.5 |
| M42 · Great Orion Nebula | Cluster with nebula | 4.0 |
| NGC1981 · Upper Sword | Cluster with nebula | 4.2 |
| NGC1788 | Reflection nebula | 5.8 |
| NGC2169 | Open cluster | 5.9 |
| NGC1662 | Open cluster | 6.4 |
| NGC2175 | Cluster with nebula | 6.8 |
| NGC1973 | Nebula | 7.0 |
| NGC1975 | Nebula | 7.0 |
| M78 | Reflection nebula | 8.0 |
Boundaries: International Astronomical Union, via Astronomy Engine. Areas are computed from the boundaries by sampling (within about one percent). Names and lines: Stellarium. Stars: HYG Database. Deep-sky objects: OpenNGC. Calculated with Astronomy Engine, an open-source library verified against the US Naval Observatory and NASA JPL. Data sources
How to use this page
Choose your place and a night at the top. The answer and the 3D view show where the constellation is, when it is highest and whether it rises at all from where you are. The chart shows its stars and lines, and the tables list its brightest stars and the deep-sky objects inside it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a constellation best seen?
When it is highest in a dark sky, which the page gives for the night you pick. Each constellation is best placed in a particular season, because the stars rise about four minutes earlier every night.
Why can I not see a constellation from my place?
Constellations far south of the celestial equator never rise from northern places, and those far north never rise from southern ones. The page says when this is the case.
What are the constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union divides the sky into 88 areas with official boundaries. The stick figures are only a drawing aid, the boundaries say which constellation a point in the sky belongs to.
Related guides
- How to learn the constellationsStart with one bright pattern you cannot miss, use it as a signpost to its neighbours, and come back a month later: the sky will have turned, and you will know a little more of it.
- Altitude and azimuth: finding things in the skyTwo angles tell you exactly where to look: which direction, and how high.
- Light pollution and dark skies: the Bortle scaleFrom a city centre you can count a few dozen stars. From a truly dark site you can count a few thousand, with the Milky Way bright enough to cast a shadow. The Bortle scale puts a number on the difference.
- Binoculars for stargazing: what to buy and what to look atA pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, dozens of star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy, for a fraction of the cost of a telescope.