One of the more distinctive groups of stars in the winter night sky is Orions Belt. It is made up of three rather bright stars; Alnitak, a super giant star about 10,000 time brighter and 20 times the mass of our sun, Alnilam, another super giant blue white star about 18,000 brighter than our sun and 20 times the mass, and Mintaka, yet another giant about 7,000 times brighterand 20 times the mass of our sun. All three probably formed from the molecular clouds found in the constellation. All three are about 800 to 1000 light years from earth. Angling below them is Orions nebula, a star factory where new young stars are being formed.
Photographing Orion is rather easy as the stars stand out brightly on a clear winter night. As the summer approaches its end and fall filters into place, anticipation for the arrival of Orion grow quickly for those who find its form a fascinating image across the night sky.
Heres one from last April a few weeks before Orion disappeared for the summer. 50mm - f/6.3 - ISO 3200 - tracked for 40 seconds.
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