Night Sky Photography -- 03-28-2023 -- How To Use The Constellation Orion As An Astronomical Signpost

Good Evening, fellow stargazers!

One of the coolest things about certain star constellations and asterisms that make up our evening sky dome is that they can be used to locate other nearby constellations and asterisms.

For example, in a previous post, I showed how one can use the Big Dipper to locate two of the major stars in the Spring Triangle and the Great Diamond asterisms.

This evening I took a few great photos of the major stars of the Constellation Orion the Hunter and his two dogs -- the constellations Canis Major The Greater Dog and Canis Minor The Lesser Dog.

Three of the major stars of these three separate constellations -- Betelgeuse in Orion, Procyon in Canis Minor, and Sirius in Canis Major -- form an equilateral triangle asterism in the evening sky called the Winter Triangle.

The Constellation Orion is the key to locating not only two dogs, but also the constellations Taurus The Bull and Gemini The Twins; as well as the Pleiades Star Cluster by following a series of lines using Orion as a starting point.

When you locate the asterism "Orion's Belt" in the sky dome, picture Orion The Hunter standing upright, with the stars Betelgeuse and Bellatrix marking out Orion's left and right shoulders, and Saiph and Rigel marking out his left and right feet.

Follow the three stars of Orion’s Belt down and to the left and draw line to find the bright star Sirius --The Dog Star -- in the Constellation Canis Major The Greater Dog.

Draw a line from Betelgeuse -- Orion's left shoulder -- and keep going to find a solitary bright star, Procyon in the Constellation Canis Minor The Lesser Dog. This line also serves as one of the three triangular lines of The Winter Triangle.

Draw a line from Rigel -- Orion's right foot -- up past Betelgeuse and keep going until you reach the two bright stars Castor and Pollux in the Constellation Gemini The Twins.

Going back to Orion’s Belt, your next target lies up and to the right, following the line of the belt to the bright reddish star Aldebaran in the Constellation Taurus the Bull. If you keep on following this line past Aldebaran, a short distance later you’ll reach the Pleiades Star Cluster (also known as the "Seven Sisters").

If you remember these easy steps, then finding all the major constellations and asterisms near Orion in the evening sky is simple.

Be sure to try it out and please let me know what y'all thought of this little presentation in the comments section below. As always have a wonderful evening and be sure to keep your eyes to the night skies, y'all hear.