A line drawn through them and prolonged southward passes near the brilliant and famous Sirius.[1]
Three fainter stars in this constellation have also attracted world-wide attention. They form a small triangle and are located in the head of the mighty hunter. The brightest is λ Orionis, a double star. Its Arab name, "Meissa," means "the Head of the Giant." The original name for the star, says Allen, meant "a white spot."
In astrology these three stars were unfortunate in their influence on human affairs. They constituted the Euphratean lunar station known as "the Little Twins," and the Hindu station called "the Head of the Stag."
In China these stars were known as "the Head of the Tiger." Manilius thus refers to them:
Three stars less bright but yet as great he bears,
But further off remov'd, their splendours lost.
Colas mentions an interesting fact in connection with the triangle formed by these stars, which reveals a current optical delusion. No ordinary observer would imagine that the moon could be contained in this triangle, but such is the fact, for the moon, which to the uninstructed observer appears about the size of "a dinner plate," should be seen as a circle a half-inch in diameter fifty-seven inches away.
σ Orionis is a glorious multiple star, possibly the finest example of its type.
Serviss in his delightful book, The Pleasures of the Telescope, thus extols the praises of σ Orionis: "He must be a person of indifferent mind who after looking with unassisted eyes at the modest glimmering of this little star, can see it as the telescope reveals it without a thrill of wonder and a cry of pleasure. The glass, as by a touch of magic,
- ↑ ζ Orionis is deserving of mention. It is a triple star, the second largest star being of such a peculiar colour as to defy description. Struve called it "ruddy-olive."
