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The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33) is located just to the south of Alnitak. The Leo Ring, a cloud of hydrogen and helium gas, orbits of two dwarf galaxies. Two large pyramids and a temple, believed to have been built in the 2nd century BCE, point directly to Orions Belt, and their layout mimics that of the three Belt stars. Visible between latitudes: 90 and minus 65 degrees. So where does Orion fit into this Leo, Orion relationship? The exact dates depend on the tribe and geography. The 10 brightest stars in Orion are Rigel ( Orionis), Betelgeuse ( Orionis), Bellatrix ( Orionis), Alnilam ( Orionis), Alnitak ( Orionis), Saiph ( Orionis), Mintaka ( Orionis), Hatysa ( Orionis), Tabit (3 Orionis), and Eta Orionis. The bright variable star V 372 Orionis takes center stage in this Hubble image. Less so, now, with new findings from NASAs Webb. Constellations are groups of stars that form patterns in the night sky, often named after animals, creatures, or mythological people resembling the outline or pattern. Aligning the star Regulus in Leo with the Sphinx, index the lion on the ground and lion in the sky using these two witness marks. Betelgeuse, one of his shoulder stars, is distinctly red in color. There are a number of luminous galaxies within Leo, including the Leo triplet of M66, M65 and NGC 3628. All this means that the display in the sky bears no relation to the pyramids alignment: it varies from minute to minute. Learn about the history of our universe, what its made of, and the forces that shape it. In ancient Egypt, it was believed that Orion's Belt was the constellation symbol of Osiris and that they were reflected by the three great pyramids meant to symbolize and be used as a gateway for the Egyptian Pharaohs to cross from the mortal life into the afterlife. Its stars are very bright and can be seen from both hemispheres. Orion has been followed since ancient times, in turn known as Hunter, as it is related to one in Greek mythology, it personifies the mythical hunter Orion, who is often symbolized on . Unlike some of the other constellations, Leo is recognizable as it actually looks like its namesake composed of a "head" and "mane" shaped sickle, or backward question mark, of stars, and haunches composed of a triad of stars. In this video, we explore a very familiar sight in our skies - The constellation Orion. In this case, we are going to locate Alpha Leonis, more commonly known as Regulus. The constellation, Orion, rises in the east and sets in the west. Both of these twins have torsos, heads, and legs which can be easily identified once the two brightest stars of the twins are located. Lead Illustrator: These include IC 423 and IC 426. All three are slanted in a Southwesterly direction. Orions Belt as it appears from the southern hemisphere in January and April, image: Stellarium. Hubble sees strange changes in asteroid dust after DART collision (video), Does the moon need its own time zone? Monoceros in this case is saying multiple centers, and demonstrates that precisely with the design of the asterism pointing to two centers. Press Esc to cancel. About Us | Privacy Policy | ContactLittle Astronomy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Alnilam and Deneb (Alpha Cygni) belong to the same class of variable stars, the Alpha Cygni variables. The flooding of the Nile was a good omen as, according to National Geographic, the event was for thousands of years a source of irrigation transforming arid and dry land into fertile regions. To the bottom right is the star Rigel. From there Ceres should be 8 or 9 degrees farther east from Denebola. This date is encoded at Giza by drawing a 12.2120 12 12 21 12 degree angle between an 11 degree division of the square and an 11 degree division of the circle creating the multi- angled Causeway of Khufu the Great Pyramid. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. The third component, Zeta Orionis B, orbits the main pair with a period 1,508.6 years at a separation of 2.728 arcseconds. It has a radius 7.2 times solar and is 32,000 times more luminous than the Sun, with a surface temperature of 29,000 K. Alnitak Ab is a little older than its more massive companion, with an estimated age of 7.2 million years. This picture shows two different views of the constellation, The Big Dipper. There, the three stars were believed to be the resting place of Osiris. Alnitak is the fifth brightest star in Orion and the 31st brightest star in the sky. The Orion's belt spiritual meaning revolves around the Orion constellation and the Starseeds that came from this constellation. The ecliptic, the circle in green is over-laid with the Template at 7/13 concentrically within the Template circle. With an apparent magnitude of 4.0, the nebula is easily visible to the unaided eye on a clear night. In local lore, the mule deer (Hap) is in the centre and has been shot by the hunter. With an apparent magnitude of 2.23, it is the seventh brightest star in Orion and the 73rd brightest star in the sky. Finding Leo only takes these 3 simple steps. There is much more to this than I can explain within the scope of this article and it is only intended to be a preview of the next book in the Giza Template series. The star Sirius is on the horizon, The Great Orion Nebula, M42 in Orions Sword is 21 degrees above the horizon and directly above Sirius. The name denotes a hunter. Its estimated that, on average, there is at least one planet for every star in our galaxy. While there are 12 astrological constellations of the zodiac, there are 13 astronomical zodiac constellations: Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, and Ophiuchus. Leo is part of the twelve constellations that comprise the zodiac with the others being Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces. NGC 346, one of the most dynamic star-forming regions in nearby galaxies, is full of mystery. The blue line intersecting the Sun and Galactic center is 51.27 off vertical marking 5127 years. The name may be related to the word nilam, meaning sapphire.. Some nebulae, like Orion, are strongly illuminated by ultraviolet radiation from the many hot stars born within them, such that the gas is ionized and glows brightly. Orions Sword lies in the region between the Belt and the feet. Orion's belt also appears in Egyptian mythology. It lies 1,344 light-years away and is the nearest region of massive star formation to the Sun. The luminary of Cygnus lies 2,615 light-years away. (below image) The three Pyramids exactly simulate the stars Delta Orionis [ Mintaka ], Epsilon [ Alnilam ], and Zeta [ Alnitak] that comprise the Orion Belt. The origin of its formal name is from an-niq which means "the girdle" or the belt of Orion the Hunter. The pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacn is exactly half as tall as the Great Pyramid of Giza. In this article, I would like to share a small preview of The Giza Template as it continues with the measure of the heavens as viewed through the eyes of the Great Sphinx. An asterism is a group of stars that form a certain shape but arent recognized officially as constellations. The faint Monoceros (the Unicorn) appears east of Alnitak. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). For observers in the southern hemisphere, the hourglass figure of Orion appears upside down. Alnitak ( Orionis) is a triple star system at the eastern end of Orions belt and is 1,260 light-years from the Earth. It can be identified above a side of the raised arm of the hunter. Furthermore, that Sirius (the brightest star in the sky) and these gods took the form . In Greek mythology, it represents the giant huntsman Orion, who incurred the wrath of the goddess Gaia by saying that he would hunt down every animal on Earth. The Orion Correlation Theory grew from researchers' interpretations of two mysterious, narrow shafts discovered in the Great Pyramid of Giza. Not to mention, in ancient civilizations, the Orion was the primary focus of people in terms of culture, science, and religion. The reconciliation of the Gregorian, Hebrew and Mayan calendars is exact and will be presented in its entirety in The Giza Template: Heavens Measure. And Mintaka, the star at the right side of the belt, is about 900 light-years away. In Finland, the asterism and the stars appearing below it are known as Vinmisen viikate (Vinminens scythe) or Vinmisen vy (Vinminens Belt). When it reaches the end, it will go out as a spectacular supernova. Leo can be seen from pretty much anywhere on Earth except for Antarctica. The Gond community of India knows the asterism as Tipan (Three Stars). The young Trapezium Cluster at the centre of the nebula can be observed in small telescopes. The names include the Weighing Beam in Chinese and Al Nijd (the Belt), Al Nasak (the Line), Al Alkt (the Golden Grains/Nuts) and Al Mzn al aqq (the Accurate Scale Beam) in Arabic. The best time to view the Leo constellation is in April. Discover the galactic menagerie and learn how galaxies evolve and form some of the largest structures in the cosmos. Consider how a car looks from the side and from the back. Take time to examine how all the constellation asterisms align precisely with the geometry of the Template. It is a single star located approximately 2,000 light-years away. Mintaka ( Orionis) is 1,200 light-years away and shines with magnitude 2.21. The easiest way to find Orion is to go outside on a clear night and look for three bright stars close together in an almost-straight line. In western culture, Orions Belt stars are most commonly associated with the Biblical story of the Three Kings (Magi). Leo is Latin for "Lion" and is represented by a lion in many myths, including the Greek myth of the Nemean Lion that was killed by the hero Heracles. It has an apparent magnitude of 9.0. Publishing his findings in a book in 1994, "The Orion Mystery: Unlocking the Secrets of the Pyramids", Mr Bauval said the similarity between this and the offset in the third star of Orion's Belt. The star was only discovered in 1998. Orion is divided into three zones. This glittering group of stars is NGC 2660 in the constellation Vela, best viewed in the southern sky. Between March 20 and April 21 Aries completely hides behind the Sun. Astronomers have found that groups of stars in certain environments can regulate the size of their group. Leo and The Sphinx The Great Sphinx is a statue with the face of a man and the body of a lion. The asterism is easy to find because is part of one of the most prominent stellar patterns in the northern sky, the hourglass-shaped constellation figure of Orion. The center of the spiral locates The Great Orion Nebula, M42. We may need to decide soon, Your monthly guide to stargazing & space science, Subscribe today and save an extra 5% with code 'LOVE5', Issues delivered straight to your door or device. With an effective temperature of about 25,600 K, it shines with 16,000 solar luminosities. But did you know theres more to constellations than meets the eye? My personal favorite app for this is SkyMap because it is so simple and lightweight. Type above and press Enter to search. This knowledge was encoded using number and proportion into the architectural structures that make up the Giza complex. It is also $2.99 while SkyMap is free. The stars spectrum also varies, possibly because of the dramatic mass loss that it is experiencing. A triangle of stars forms the lion's haunches. The image hints at the power of the VST and OmegaCAM for surveying the extragalactic Universe and for mapping the low-brightness objects of the galactic halo. Image: Rogelio Bernal Andreo (CC BY-SA 3.0). Orion's belt is the most recognizable part of this constellation. Scientists noticed that Betelgeuse was mysteriously dimming in late 2019 following a traumatic outburst caused by the star blowing off a large portion of its visible surface. Scientists studying the Carina Nebula discovered jets and outflows from young stars previously hidden by dust. Like Betelgeuse, Rigel is much larger and heavier than our Sun. Three bright stars in a diagonal line in the middle of a bright rectangle decorate Orion's belt which points northward to the bright orange star . The illustration reconstructs the relative positions of Orion's bright stars, including data from the Hipparcus catalog of parallax distances. Social Media Lead: Look for the three stars in a straight line that mark his belt, the two stars that mark his shoulders, and the two stars of his feet. Orion belongs to the Orion family of constellations, along with Canis Major, Canis Minor, Lepus and Monoceros. Then look eastward about 25 degrees to find Denebola, which represents the lion's tail. Orion is one of the oldest constellations in the sky. Tour Start here for a quick overview of the site Help Center Detailed answers to any questions you might have Meta Discuss the workings and policies of this site About Us Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orions Belt, ionizes the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024), an emission nebula located approximately 1,350 light-years away. When the primary component eclipses the secondary, the brightness drops from magnitude 2.23 to 2.29, and when the primary star is eclipsed by the secondary, the brightness decreases to magnitude 2.35. The word 'constellation' comes from the Latin 'constellacio' which means 'set of stars'. Leo is the sign of a king; in the old days kings were given respect and homage and ideally, a good king took care of the kingdom and his subjects. Regulus forms the base of the Leo constellation so once you find it you shouldnt have much trouble visualizing the rest of the lion and joining the dots. In Hungary, the Belt of Orion is traditionally known as Brplca, Judges stick.. The star-forming nebula Messier 43 (De Mairans Nebula) lies next to the Orion Nebula. The stars that appear to be hanging from the Belt are known as Kalevanmiekka (Kalevas sword). Sara Mitchell Below the three bright stars of Orions belt lies his sword, where you can find the famous Orion Nebula. A line extended through the Big Dippers bowl leads to Castor, the second brightest star in Gemini. To find the Leo constellation, look for a cluster of bright stars. The annual cycle of the zodiac was used by ancient cultures to determine the time of year. Space is three-dimensional, so if you were looking at the stars that make up the constellation Orion from another part of our galaxy, you might see an entirely different pattern! By mid-to-late November, Orion is back in the evening sky, rising in the east at mid-evening (about midway between your local sundown and midnight). Delve into the life history, types, and arrangements of stars, as well as how they come to host planetary systems. In January, the constellation Orion appears high above the southern horizon around 10 pm. Leo Leois a zodiac constellation laying a little further on from Gemini and forming a distinct sickle shape of stars starting with the brightest called Regulus. They are characters in the 19th-century national epic Kalevala by Elias Lnnrot. These star systems are moving away from the M42 Nebula in a spiral motion with our ecliptic rolling along like a wheel on a spiral path. Their orientation to the Nile recreates Orion's orientation to the Milky Way. The celestial equator is the projection of the Earths equator into space. It is located in orbit of two galaxies in the center of the Leo group of galaxies within the Constellation of Leo. In addition to newborn stars, Orion also has some other awesome cosmic objects hanging around. Alnitak is a hot blue supergiant of the spectral type O9.5Iab. The stars formed in the same molecular cloud and are roughly the same age. The brightest star in the curve of the sickle is Al Geiba, which means "the lion's mane." The star is so huge that if it replaced the Sun at the center of our solar system, it would extend past the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter! Orion is one of the 15 equatorial constellations. The constellation disappears during the early southern hemisphere winter and reappears in the east just before dawn in August. There is a 9th magnitude star, sometimes called Alnitak C, that appears in the same line of sight. The Belt of Orion is make up of three stars, Mintaka (Delta . The Seri people in northwestern Mexico call Orions Belt Hapj. This differs a bit from the astrology dates for the zodiac where they consider the Sun to be in Taurus from July 23 to August 22. Orion is the 26th largest constellation in size, occupying an area of 594 square degrees. This means humanity has founded a wealth of myths and legends around the constellation. The Mori people of New Zealand call Orions Belt Tautoru, meaning a string of three. The asterism represents the stern in the constellation known as Te Waka o Rangi (the canoe of Rangi). Orion will fashion alert minds and agile bodies, souls prompt to respond to duty's call, and hearts which press on with unflagging energy in spite of every trial. The Giza/Orion Link The Giza Plateau in the year 10,450 BC. It was originally a Google Labs apps so you know it os good. All three stars are exceptionally fast spinners, with projected rotational velocities of 130 km/s (Mintaka), 150 km/s (Delta Ori Aa2), and 220 km/s (Delta Ori Ab). If you are new around here and you want to get started with the hobby, check out our astronomy for beginners guide or the recommended gear page. However, it is unclear whether it is physically related to the system or just an optical companion. Hapj consists of three stars: Hap (mule deer), Haamoja (pronghorn), and Mojet (bighorn sheep). It is believed to be between 32,000 and 38,000 years old. Also captured is the red supergiant Betelgeuse (top left) and the famous Belt of Orion composed of the OB stars Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. Orions Belt or the Belt of Orion, also known as the Three Kings or Three Sisters, is an asterism and it consists of the three bright stars Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. A close-up of the Sphinx and related temples show how 54 horizontal and 32 vertical divisions determine the positioning as well as the length and width of the Lion body. The combined apparent magnitude of its components is 1.77. Constellations are formed of bright stars which appear close to each other on the sky, but are really far apart in space. Dangling down from his belt is a sword. It is the 5th brightest star in the constellation Orion. Betelgeuse is destined to end in a supernova blast. Among Orion's best-known features is the "belt," consisting of three bright stars in a line, each of which can be seen without a . It follows the naming convention of these groupings taking its name from an animal. You can see Betelgeuse's reddish color without a telescope. They have a combined apparent magnitude of 1.77. RobertLeais a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. SMITH: OK. The three bright blue stars Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka outline the belt in the constellation figure of the celestial Hunter. When they appear in the early night sky, they signal the beginning of the farming season. Betelgeuse is a young star by stellar standards, about 10 million years old, compared to our nearly 5 billion-year-old Sun. The diagonal of the spiral and the 259.2 angle intersect at the head of the Sphinx, a hole in the Sphinxs head at that point is consistent with this model. Two Hubble images of NGC 1850 show dazzlingly different views of the globular cluster. They can observe the behavior of material and stars that are very close to black holes, helping scientists find clues that can lead them closer to discovering some of these most bizarre and fascinating objects in the cosmos. In India, Orions Belt is associated with Shravana Kumara, a character from the old Hindu text Ramayana. The Temple of Khentkawes encodes divisions of 9, 11, and 13 all pointing to a 13, 21 Fibonacci division of the main circle radius. The seven brightest stars in Orion outline the Hunters hourglass-shaped figure. The Orion Nebula (M42)is a huge cloud of dust and gasalmost 25 light-years across inside which new stars are being formed. Orions Belt, Aldebaran and the Hyades, credit: Adam Block (CC BY-SA 4.0). Among the 30 brightest stars, only Deneb is more distant. First, you should spot Orion's Belt, which is made of three bright stars in a straight line. The Sphinx views the eastern horizon, its counterpart in the sky is Leo, the lion shaped asterism created in the stars indexed with the star Regulus. The Orion belt also had symbolic meanings that we got to know over the millennia. The three zodiacal constellations already mentioned lie on an elliptic line 18 degrees wide known as the Zodiac and following this line will lead you onto the other zodiac constellations. The evidence I have presented in The Giza Template is not theoretical, it is a blueprint that recreates 11 pyramids, the Great Sphinx, the Temple of Kentkawes, the Wall of the Crow and other key features at Giza with precision. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.s Open University. These three stars represent Orion's belt. It is a hot blue bright giant of the spectral type O9.5II. A line drawn through the Belt stars to the northwest leads to Aldebaran, the luminary of the constellation Taurus and the 14th brightest star in sky. This season, Orion can readily be found standing high in the southern sky at nightfall and doesn't completely set until around 1:30 a.m. It posits that there is a correlation between the location of the three largest pyramids of the Giza pyramid complex and Orion's Belt of the constellation Orion, and that this correlation was intended as such by the original builders of the Giza pyramid complex. The asterism is so called because it appears to form a belt in the hunter's outfit. The constellation can be found by looking for the head of the lion, or the "sickle," starting at the Regulus (Alpha Leonis) star. Constellations near Orions Belt, image: Stellarium. Taken using 300mm and 200mm vintage telephoto lenses. Because of their alignment to Earths orbit, the constellations in the Zodiac belt are fully visible for about 9 months and then move to the area behind the Sun where they remain invisible to us from Earth for 3 months or so. In Australia and New Zealand, the constellation figure of Orion appears upside down, and Orions Belt and Sword are sometimes called the Saucepan or the Pot. With an effective temperature of about 29,500 K, it shines with 250,000 solar luminosities. This means that, even though Alnitak and Mintaka appear closer to Alnilam in the sky, they are in fact closer to each other. Deep sky objects near Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, image: Wikisky. The asterism designed within the constellation of Monoceros points to the center of the spiral and the alignment of the center of the galaxy on the ecliptic, behind the Sun and Earth as viewed from the Sphinx on 12/21/2012 at 16:00 hrs after sunrise. Alnitak was known as (Shn Xi y), the First Star of Three Stars, Alnilam as (Shn S r), the Second Star of Three Stars, and Mintaka as (Shn S sn), the Third Star of Three Stars. A portion of the open cluster NGC 6530 appears as a roiling wall of smoke studded with stars in this Hubble image. According to legend, Gaia sent a scorpion to prove him wrong. What direction is Orion's belt? Mintaka and Delta Ori Aa2 orbit each other with a period of 5.732436 days. A fourth component, Delta Orionis B, is a 14th-magnitude star that may be related to the system, but its properties are not understood well enough to confirm this. This site is maintained by the Astrophysics Communications teams at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. These constellations are visible from virtually anywhere on the globe for at least part of the year. The third Messier object in this region of the sky is the reflection nebula Messier 78. This image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope shows the open star cluster NGC 2002 in all its sparkling glory. It is slightly fainter than its Orions Belt neighbour Alnilam, but it outshines Mintaka. Asterisms are patterns of stars of similar brightness. Image from Stellarium: Southern Cross and Orion (Click on image to enlarge) In February, Orion rises in the east rather early - about 4 pm. Other operators like Amazon's Project Kuiper (planning to begin launches of prototypes in early 2023 and eventually have a constellation of 3,236 satellites) and OneWeb (with 600 satellites set . Orion is a familiar constellation. HD 20745 is a orange to red giant star that can be located in the constellation of Eridanus. And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. According to legend, Gaia sent a scorpion to prove him wrong. The trick to finding a constellation is usually to find its brightest star as it will be easier to do. The exact latitudes are +90 to -65 which extends all the way from the North Pole to a few miles to the south of Argentina. The name Mintaka is derived from the Arabic manaqa, meaning belt.. Scientists discovered the first gamma-ray eclipses from a special type of binary star system using data from NASAs Fermi. (Image credit: manpuku7 via Getty Images). Not all constellations in the sky are visible all year long. The brightest star of this trio is Denebola, which means "tail of the lion.". In fact, that is exactly what I have discovered encoded in The Giza Template. A more detailed graphic here shows the precise positioning of the Sphinx, its associated temples as well as the Temple of Khentkawes and the Wall of the Crow. With a mass 14 times that of the Sun, it is also a supernova candidate. Believed to be the cosmic fire of creation by the Maya of Mesoamerica, M42 blazes brightly in the constellation Orion. It is formed by three points of light: the young star 42 Orionis and the Running Man Nebula (NGC 1977), the bright Orion Nebula (Messier 42) with the Trapezium Cluster, and the multiple star system Iota Orionis, which is part of the open cluster NGC 1980. Delta Orionis is a complex star system that contains five stars in total. A Hubble Space Telescope image of the Orion nebula, or M42. Orion is one of the largest constellations in the sky. Orions Belt has historically carried a lot of significance both in eastern and western cultures. The Sphinx views the sky through the course of the year. Now that we know a little bit more about constellations, lets talk about the supercool cosmic objects that form them stars! Orion may not look quite so familiar in this 3D view though. Ancient Egyptians believed that the gods descended from Sirius and the Belt of Orion and instigated the human race. The Three Stars asterism originally consisted of Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka, and other bright Orion stars Rigel, Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, and Saiph were added later. Regulus, Al Jabbah, and Algieba, together with the fainter stars Leo (Adhafera), Leo (Ras Elased Borealis), and Leo (Ras Elased Australis), constitute the sickle. It is supposed to look like the warrior Orion from Greek mythology.The constellation has other names in different cultures: it is mentioned under a Hebrew name in the Book of Job.. Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpius Saggitarius Capricornus Aquarius Pisces. Some historians believe that this is not coincidental because the structure had an astronomical purpose. Thus, the constellation Leo. Popularly known as the Dog Star, Sirius is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major and one of the nearest stars to the Sun. Chelsea Gohd, Jeanette Kazmierczak, and Barb Mattson The scattered stars of the globular cluster NGC 6355 are strewn across this Hubble image. After spotting the lion's head, skywatchers may next want to trace its haunches and its tail, which are formed by a triangle of stars the brightest of which is Denebola, or the "tail of the lion.". Even though it is a young star, Alnilam is already approaching the end of its life. The constellation Orion is depicted as the human figure of a hunter chasing a hare (Lepus) with his two dogs (Canis Major and Canis Minor) or, alternatively, facing the charge of the Bull (Taurus). We know from old religious writings, that the ancient Egyptians believed that the gods descended from the belt of Orion. She is, mostly, a winter constellation of the northern region of the planet. The stars are evenly spaced and form a more or less straight line, which makes them easy to identify. The job of the Sphinx is to record the range of the ecliptic from winter solstice though the spring equinox, summer solstice, fall equinox returning yearly to the winter solstice. Question 1: Where does the Orion constellation fit into the story? Saturn is the brightish yellow object below Venus and the bright red star Antares. A similar correspondence was discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Teotihuacn, which lies 35 miles northeast of Mexico City. Leo is easy to find when you learn this one simple trick (did that sound like a fake internet guru line?). The same line drawn past Aldebaran leads to the Pleiades, another exceptionally bright open cluster. So at 9 pm, he is overhead i.e. The stars of Orions Belt, image: Wikisky. Its other non-zodiac constellation neighbors are Coma Berenices, Crater, Hydra, Leo Minor, Lynx, Sextans, and Ursa Major. The apparent positions of its stars in two dimensions create a well-known pattern on the bowl of planet Earth's night sky.