Orion
The hunter everyone can find
Best on December–February evenings · celestial equator (visible from both hemispheres).
Orion is the easiest constellation to recognize and the anchor of the whole winter sky. Straddling the celestial equator, it's visible from nearly everywhere on Earth, and once you spot the three stars of its Belt in a short, even row, the rest of the hunter falls into place around them.
How to find it
Best on winter evenings, climbing the southern sky for northern observers and passing overhead from the tropics. Look for three bright stars in a tight, evenly-spaced line — that's the Belt, with Alnitak and Alnilam among them — then read outward: a brilliant blue-white star to one side and a deep orange one to the other mark the hunter's knee and shoulder.
Brightest stars
Two giants dominate. Blue-white Rigel shines at magnitude 0.12 as Orion's knee, and the famous orange-red supergiant Betelgeuse glows at magnitude 0.5 on his shoulder. Bellatrix, at 1.64, marks the other shoulder.
Worth seeing
The Belt itself is the prize — Alnitak and Alnilam in a near-perfect line, one of the sky's truest straight rows, and the jumping-off point for finding half the winter stars.
Frequently asked
When is Orion visible?
Winter evenings, roughly December through February in the northern hemisphere. Because it sits on the celestial equator, it's seen from almost everywhere on Earth — just flipped over for southern observers.
What are the brightest stars in Orion?
Blue-white Rigel (magnitude 0.12) and orange Betelgeuse (0.5) are the two brightest, with Bellatrix marking the second shoulder and the Belt stars Alnitak and Alnilam in a row across the middle.
Which hemisphere is Orion in?
Both. Straddling the celestial equator, Orion is visible from the northern and southern hemispheres alike, which is part of why it's the most universally recognized constellation.
Nearby constellations
Taurus · Gemini · Eridanus · Canis Major · Auriga · Columba · Puppis · Aries