Starship Asterisk*

Hello!
Please help a newbie!
I subsribed Apod and studied the picture at http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap081015.html. I cannot find the designation for the 3 stars next right to the Orion´s belt. They are horizontal stringed and the star in middle is red.
Kindly regards from Germany
Charlyms

charlyms wrote:I cannot find the designation for the 3 stars next right to the Orion´s belt. They are horizontal stringed and the star in middle is red.

That would be the Hunter's sword: stars 42 Orionis + 45 Orionis (left), nebula M42 (middle), stars iota Orionis a.k.a. Hatsya + HD 36960 (right).
There is a bit of nebulosity near 42 Ori, called NGC 1977. There is the 'small' nebula called M43, almost attached to M42. There is a nebula near iota Ori, called NGC 1980.


http://tinyurl.com/swordoforion [wikisky.org]