Alnitak, Alnilam, Mintaka
January 21, 2011
I thought that this picture would be especially fitting because Orion is one of the constellations of the week. The picture shows the belt of Orion, housing the three stars Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka. Alnitak is the hottest O class star in the sky, a hot blue super giant. Alnilam is just as bright as the other two even though it is the farthest away. Alnilam is 18,000 times brighter than our Sun!!!! The surface temperature, color and mass are roughly even across the board though. Orion is probably one of the most commonly know constellations in the sky. It is easy to point out and find, and is relatively a large constellation. The constellation is packed full of interesting objects to observe and take pictures of. The horsehead nebula is also located in the Orion Nebula. It is an emission nebula so it is only visible if there is a source of light coming from behind it, in order to light up the dust clouds. Not only is the Horsehead nebula located within Orion, but also the flame nebula. This nebula is made mostly out of ionized Hydrogen. It's cool to see a constellation that you can recognize in the sky, and know that it is full of wonder and amazing celestial objects.
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