in Japanese. 7 stars can be seen without binoculars or a telescope, but with those instruments over 100 stars are visible. In Oak Ridge we are lucky to see any stars at all, we have terrible "light pollution" here! This photo was taken with a 300mm telephoto lens. It is extremely difficult to photograph this constellation because it is usually located straight overhead, not an easy position to aim a spotting scope or a telescope! (To see the stars in an enlarged photo, click on the thumbnail)
(pronounced "beetle juice"). This large red star is 500 light-years away from Earth. If it was our sun, it would reach Mars! It is a relatively cool star, with a temperature of 5,000 degrees F. Rigel is a small, blue star in Orion's righ "ankle". It is super-hot, reaching 35,000 degrees F. The 3 diagonal stars in the middle of the constellation make up his belt. His "sword" is the 3 small vertical dots. The middle one is Orion's Nebula (a gas cloud and birthplace of new stars).
