dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (08/05/85)
In the summer, the winter constellation Orion rises before dawn. More on the return of Orion -- after this. August 5 Return of the Hunter In very early morning, you can look south of the coming sunrise for what may be a familiar shape. It's the stately constellation Orion, now emerging before dawn just above the southeastern horizon. Because it appears in this way each summer, Orion has been called "the ghost of the shimmering summer dawn." Orion the hunter is one of the best-known constellations of winter, when it's seen riding high in the evening sky. For you who came to know Orion in the winter months, recognizing the constellation as it first rises in the summer can be an exciting experience. The hunter emerges from the sun's glare on his side, with his three prominent belt stars pointing straight up. His club and shield are held before him -- ever ready to fend off the charging bull, Taurus, which rose only slightly earlier, and which is higher in the eastern predawn sky. Seeing Orion before dawn gives you the chance to see a kind of "moon illusion" with a constellation. The moon illusion really is an illusion that causes the full moon near the horizon to look larger than the moon seen overhead. Like the moon, constellations also appear larger when they're near the horizon -- due to a trick our eyes are playing. If you were to photograph Orion now, it would look its normal size. But on a silent summer morning, you'll see Orion the hunter as much larger-than-life, rising dimly from the mists on the eastern horizon. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1984, 1985 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin