Fun Facts with Angus Burns: Orion the hunter
The magnificent Orion Nebula is located about 1385 light years from us.
Constellations are groups of stars that form recognizable patterns to us and which we often associate with famous characters from mythology.
One of the most prominently visible constellations currently is that of Orion the hunter.
There are many myths associated with Orion one of which involved his relentless pursuit of the 7 daughters of Atlas who, in order to protect them from Orion, transformed them into stars which now make up another famous celestial object – the Pleaides.
Whilst the Orion Constellation is beautiful in its own right and the stories associated with it rich in imagination, it is also famous for some of the most breath-taking nebulae ever to be observed.
There are different types of Nebulae but many are often referred to as the ‘birth place’ of stars – areas of gas and dust wherein star formation is actively happening.
The magnificent Orion Nebula is located about 1385 light years from us.
A light year is a measure of distance and equates to the distance light travels in one year which is calculated to be 9.5 trillion kms.
The Orion Nebula is thus 1385 light years x 9.5 trillion kms away from us!
I would challenge any reader to calculate the distance and try to pronounce the figure they arrive it.
The distance between us (on Earth) and visible astronomical objects is immense and the Orion nebula is just one example.
In studying these fascinating deep space objects, we are actually peering back in time. Light from the Sun takes 8 minutes to reach Earth whilst light from the Orion nebula takes over a thousand years.
We are thus seeing light from over a thousand years ago – A truly mind bending thought!
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