Stargazing News - January 23rd, 2025
From
CJ@21:2/156 to
All on Wed Jan 22 06:48:02 2025
Thursday, January 23, 2025
The Misty Head of Orion (evening)
Orion's head is composed of the blue giant, magnitude 3.6 star Meissa or
Lambda Orionis and a pair of magnitude 4 stars Phi1 and Phi2 Orionis. To your unaided eyes, they form a half-degree wide triangle with Meissa on top (celestial north). Binoculars or a low magnification telescope will reveal a pretty sight. A neat line of three stars links Phi1 to Meissa, and a magnitude 5.6 star continues the chain to the north. Altogether, about 20 stars
scattered across 1.2ø of the sky combine to form an open cluster designated Collinder 69 or the Lambda Orionis Cluster. These hot, young siblings are gathered about 1,600 light-years from our sun. Phi2, which shines with a
golden colour, is an unrelated star in the foreground. Crank up the magnification to split Meissa into a splendid double star. Its orbiting magnitude 5.5 companion is tucked in close to the northeast. Astronomers have been tracking the change in their relative positions since 1779.
(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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