The constellation of Orion, the Hunter. Orion is one of the most easily recognised and best known of the constellations. It lies on the celestial equa

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The constellation of Orion, the Hunter. Orion is one of the most easily recognised and best known of the constellations. It lies on the celestial equator and is thus visible from both hemispheres. The line of three bright stars just right of the image centre forms Orion's belt, with his sword hanging below. The pinkish-red \star\" in the centre of the sword is in fact the Orion nebula, a region of glowing gas illuminated by a group of hot young stars. The bright orange star above and to the left of the belt is Betelgeuse, a red giant with a diameter around 300 times that of the Sun. The bright white star below and to the right of the belt is Rigel, a hot blue supergiant. See \"Observing the Constellations\", page 130."

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Keywords: astronomy, betelgeuse, blue, constellation, cosmology, giant, orion, red, rigel, science, star, stars, stellar, supergiant