D - 3 : three days and three stars

Photo Credit : The three stars in ORION Belt

Since we are three days before the iconic date of December 21st, 2012, I would like to share with you some thoughts and feelings about the  three stars constituting Orion Belt. Their alignment is somehow related to the near coming galactic alignment.

There is also an alignment of three planets, Saturn, Venus and Mercury, visible with naked eyes, early in the morning, this December 2012. You can check the end of this article for more information about this alignment.

So, for a few minutes, relax in your sitting, open your heart and let go with me in this little journey in the stars.

Orion, the Constellation of Many Alignments

The three stars of Orion Belt are located in the Constellation of Orion, a beautiful winter constellation. In our latitudes, this constellation is visible this December almost all the night. It rises about one hour after the sunset and sets before sunrise. The following picture summarizes some interesting facts about Orion Constellation this December 2012.

Near neighbors of Orion Constellation as seen in the sky this December 18th, 2012

Apart from the three stars of Orion Belt there are two other bright stars in this constellation : Betelgeuse, the red super giant star and Rigel, the blue super giant star. Both are among the ten brightest stars in the sky. Betelgeuse forms with Sirius (the brightest star in the sky) and Procyon an almost perfect equilateral triangle, The Winter Triangle. The three stars of Orion Belt are sometimes called The Three Sisters. If we look to the right of The Three Sisters we can see The Seven Sisters or The Pleiades Constellation. Not very far from The Pleaides, Planet Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system, is located, This December 2012 in the Taurus Constellation near the red star, Aldebaran.

Below Orion Belt there is the Great Nebula of Orion. Located at 1500 light-years, this nebula contents luminous gas and dusts with many new born stars.

There is also an interesting fact about Orion : it is located in the "Celestial Equator", an imaginary plane prolonging Earth's Equator to the infinite sky. And when the alignment with the galactic center will happens in three days, Orion constellation will be exactly at the opposite direction from the sun and the galactic center ! This is illustrated with the arrow in the picture above and with the schema below :

Celestial Alignment with the Galactic Center and Orion Constellation on December 21st, 2012

Some scholars saw in this alignment an astronomical sign known by ancient Egyptians who build the three main Pyramids in Giza at locations like the positions of the three stars of Orion Belt.

Orion, the spacecraft

A mockup of Orion Spacecraft being tested in the Atlantic Ocean

Nasa is working on a new spacecraft to explore Solar System with human crew. The goal is to return to Moon, then to an Asteroid before going to planet Mars. This new spaceship is called Orion. Ancient Egyptians called the Constellation Orion, Osiris, the Egyptian God of Dead and Afterlife. So naming Orion the new exploration program  is a good idea especially after the tragical accident of Columbia in 2003.