The Constellation Orion

If I spend time outdoors looking up, it's usually looking for birds or admiring the clouds.  I happened to wake up before the sun this morning and noticed an "old friend" low in the southeastern sky:  it's the constellation Orion.

Orion is one of the most recognizable constellations in the sky even to casual observers.  The three bright stars in a short, straight line make it easy to find.  Orion is above the horizon for the entire Northern Hemisphere winter season, and since it's located near the ecliptic (roughly five degrees off the celestial equator) virtually all of the Earth can see Orion at some point during the year.

If you've got binoculars or even a low-powered telescope look for the Orion Nebula, a region of gas and dust glowing in space; it's located just "below" the line of three bright stars in Orion's belt.  Thousands of new stars are forming within the nebula, and given how much unconsolidated material is present in the nebula new stars should continue to form for a very long time.

My view looking southeast this morning around 5:30 am.  The three bright stars near the middle of
the photo make up Orion's belt:  Alintak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.  The Orion Nebula is a few degrees below
the "belt" and looks like a reddish smudge in this image.

Google Earth's view of Orion, showing the imaginary lines connecting the brighter stars in the constellation.