Starship Asterisk*

Reminds me of the movie: The Men In Black where the cat called orion had a belt around his neck with a full size galaxy in a glass ball.



Happy New Year

The picture is the belt.

http://home.online.no/~rhagen2/galleri/orion.html

Shows the familar shape. You can see the smudge of the Flame nebula just above the leftmost star in the belt (Alnitak). The Horsehead nebula is just discernable below.

The reason you can see the nebulae in the picture is a result of the filters that have been applied. They nebulae are *that big*, you just don't usually see them.

Regards

The idea of the knife seems possible.

Norval

link
http://www.astrosurf.com/lorenzi/images/orionbelt.htm
Does this view help?
Orin

Your right some parts are closer than 1500 light years as the APOD states.

"The region around Alnitak is remarkable as well, containing several dusty clouds of interstellar gas, including the famed "Horsehead Nebula" to the south. Alnitak approaches first magnitude even though at a distance of 800 light years."
and
BETELGEUSE (Alpha Orionis). " At its most likely distance of 425 light years, its measured angular diameter yields a radius 600 times that of the Sun, 2.8 Astronomical Units. If placed at the Sun, the star would go 55% of the way to the orbit of the planet Jupiter. From its size and temperature, allowing for its infrared radiation,"
and
RIGEL (Beta Orionis). "At a distance of 775 light years, Rigel actually shines with the light of 40,000 Suns. It is a "blue supergiant," a fairly hot star with a surface temperature (11,000 Kelvin) about double that of our Sun. "
and
CURSA (Beta Eridani). "Only 89 light years away, Cursa shines with a soft white light from a surface with a temperature of 8360 Kelvin. A giant star of class A about three times the solar diameter, it radiates 45 solar luminosities into space. Containing two to 2.5 times the mass of the Sun."

and so on

Happy New Year

is this picture the stars of orions belt or of the knife hanging from the belt?
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap051013.html

When I look at Orion, the belt stars seem to be alot farther away from each other that this picture indicates. Also the horse head would be quite naked eye visible. This is the picture that was used; however, in a comparison between the pyramid alignment and the star alignment of the belt. If this is the knife and not the belt then maybe a new comparison should be tried.?????????