PICT0070-1_2-A view of "The Three Mary's", this is an enlarged section of PICT0070-1. The dark line on the right side is a cable in the patio.

KONICA MINOLTA 5D DIGITAL CAMERA-Photo taken with my 28mm f2.5 Vivitar M42 screw mount (Pentax) wide-angle lens at 1 sec., f2.5, ISO 3200 using a Ball Mount Head on a table in the patio. At 3200 ISO shows lots of digital noise. The bottom image on the right is reddish and the left star is blue color. Top off the image shows the house roof. The two bottom and the Three Mary's have been ID as 1) Betelgeuse (/ˈbiːtəldʒuːz/ or /ˈbɛtəldʒuːz/),[1] also known by its Bayer designation Alpha Orionis (α Orionis, α Ori), is the ninth-brightest star in the night sky and second-brightest in the constellation of Orion. Distinctly reddish, it is a semiregular variable star whose apparent magnitude varies between 0.2 and 1.2, the widest range of any first-magnitude star. Betelgeuse is one of three stars that make up the Winter Triangle, and it marks the center of the Winter Hexagon. The star's name is derived from the Arabic يد الجوزاء Yad al-Jauzā', meaning "the Hand of al-Jauzā'", i.e. Orion, with mistransliteration into medieval Latin leading to the first character y being misread as a b.

 

The star is classified as a red supergiant of spectral type M2Iab and is one of the largest and most luminous observable stars. If Betelgeuse were at the center of the Solar System, its surface would extend past the asteroid belt, possibly to the orbit of Jupiter and beyond, wholly engulfing Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Estimates of its mass are poorly constrained, but range from 5 to 30 times that of the Sun. Its distance from Earth was estimated in 2008 at 640 light-years, yielding a mean absolute magnitude of about −6.02. Less than 10 million years old, Betelgeuse has evolved rapidly because of its high mass. Having been ejected from its birthplace in the Orion OB1 Association—which includes the stars in Orion's Belt—this crimson runaway has been observed moving through the interstellar medium at a supersonic speed of 30 km/s, creating a bow shock over 4 light-years wide. Currently in a late stage of stellar evolution, the supergiant is expected to proceed through its life cycle before exploding as a type II supernova within the next million years. An observation by the Herschel Space Observatory in January 2013 revealed that the star's winds are crashing against the surrounding interstellar medium.[16]

 

In 1920, Betelgeuse became the second star (after the Sun) to have the angular size of its photosphere measured. Since then, researchers have used telescopes with different technical parameters to measure the stellar giant, often with conflicting results. Studies since 1990 have produced an angular diameter (apparent size) ranging from 0.043 to 0.056 arcseconds, an incongruity largely caused by the star's tendency to periodically change shape. Due to limb darkening, variability, and angular diameters that vary with wavelength, many of the star's properties are not yet known with any certainty. Adding to these challenges, the surface of Betelgeuse is obscured by a complex, asymmetric envelope roughly 250 times the size of the star, caused by colossal mass loss. This star is at the bottom right side in the photo. 2), The blueish star on the bottom left side is Bellatrix, also known by its Bayer designation Gamma Orionis (γ Ori, γ Orionis), is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion. A second-magnitude star, it is the twenty-seventh brightest star in the night sky.Bellatrix is a massive star with about 8.4 times the Sun's mass. It has an estimated age of approximately 20 million years;[5] long enough for a star of this mass to consume the hydrogen at its core and begin to evolve away from the main sequence into a giant star.[7] The effective temperature of the outer envelope of this star is 22,000 K,[8] which is considerably hotter than the 5,778 K on the Sun. This high temperature gives this star the blue-white hue that occurs with B-type stars.[12] The measured angular diameter of this star, after correction for limb darkening, is 0.72 ± 0.04 mas.[13] At an estimated distance of 250 light-years (77 parsecs),[1] this yields a physical size of about six times the radius of the Sun.[6][7]

 

Bellatrix was once thought to belong to the Orion OB1 Association of stars that share a common motion through space, along with the "Orion's Belt" stars ζ Ori (Alnitak), ε Ori (Alnilam), and δ Ori (Mintaka). However, this is no longer believed to be the case, as Bellatrix is now known to be much closer than the rest of the group.[7] It is not known to have a stellar companion,[14] although researchers Maria-Fernanda Nieva and Norbert Przybilla raised the possibility it might be a spectroscopic binary composed of two very similar stars after detailed analysis of its spectrum, adding that this would explain its unexpected brightness.[15] A 2011 search for nearby companions failed to conclusively find any objects that share a proper motion with Bellatrix. Three nearby candidates were all found to be background stars.[5]

Etymology and cultural significance

 

The name Bellatrix is Latin for "female warrior", and first appeared in the works of Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi and John of Seville. The name originally referred to Capella, but was transferred to Gamma Orionis by the Vienna school of astronomers in the 15th century, and appeared in contemporary reprints of the Alfonsine tables.[16] It was also called the Amazon Star, which Richard Hinckley Allen proposed came from a loose translation of the Arabic name Al Najīd, the Conqueror.[17] A c.1275 Arabic celestial globe records the name as المرزم "the lion".[18] Bellatrix is one of the four navigational stars in Orion that are used for celestial navigation.[19] The Chinese name for the star is 参宿五 ("The Fifth of the Three Stars").

 

In the 17th century catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket, this star was designated Menkib al Jauza al Aisr, which was translated into Latin as Humerus Sinister Gigantis.[20]

 

J.K. Rowling named one of the Death Eaters "Bellatrix Lestrange". The Latin translation alludes to the character's nature in the Harry Potter series.

 

The marooned astronauts in the original 1968 film of Planet of the Apes initially believe that they are on an unknown planet orbiting Bellatrix, before the sole survivor realizes their true location in the final scene.

 

The Wardaman people of northern Australia know Bellatrix as Banjan, the sparkling pigment used in ceremonies conducted by Rigel the Red Kangaroo Leader in a songline when Orion is high in the sky. The other stars of Orion are his ceremonial tools and entourage. Betelgeuse is Ya-jungin "Owl Eyes Flicking", watching the ceremonies.[21]

 

To the Inuit, the appearance of Betelgeuse and Bellatrix high in the southern sky after sunset marked the beginning of spring and lengthening days in late February and early March. The two stars were known as Akuttujuuk "those (two) placed far apart", referring to the distance between them, mainly to people from North Baffin Island and Melville Peninsula.[22] . #3)- The Three Mary's above top view of the photo are referred as Alnitak (Arabic: النطاق an-niṭāq‎) is a triple star some 736 light years distant in the constellation Orion. It is part of Orion's Belt along with Alnilam and Mintaka, and has a Bayer designation of Zeta Orionis.

 

 

The primary star is a hot blue supergiant with an absolute magnitude of -5.25, and is the brightest class O star in the night sky with a visual magnitude of +2.04. It has two bluish 4th magnitude companions, producing a combined magnitude for the trio of +1.72. The stars are members of the Orion OB1 association and the Collinder 70 association.The three belt stars were collectively known by many names in many cultures. Arabic terms include Al Nijād 'the Belt', Al Nasak 'the Line', Al Alkāt 'the Golden Grains or Nuts' and, in modern Arabic, Al Mīzān al H•akk 'the Accurate Scale Beam'. In Chinese mythology they were also known as The Weighing Beam.[4] The belt was also the Three Stars mansion (simplified Chinese: 参宿; traditional Chinese: 參宿; pinyin: Shēn Xiù), one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the western mansions of the White Tiger.

 

In pre-Christian Scandinavia, the belt was known as Frigg's Distaff (Friggerock) or Freyja's distaff.[7] Similarly Jacob's Staff and Peter's Staff were European biblical derived terms, as were the Three Magi, or the Three Kings. Väinämöinen's Scythe (Kalevala) and Kalevan Sword are terms from Finnish mythology.[4]

 

The Seri people of northwestern Mexico call the three belt stars Hapj (a name denoting a hunter), which consists of three stars: Hap (mule deer), Haamoja (pronghorn), and Mojet (bighorn sheep). Hap is in the middle and has been shot by the hunter; its blood has dripped onto Tiburón Island.[8]

 

In Spain and Portugal, this asterism is known as Las Tres Marías or As Três Marias, which stand for The Three Marys in Spanish and Portuguese respectively.

 

In Christian astromythology, Mintaka is also regarded as the third of the three Magi on their way to Bethlehem (Sirius): Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar. The Three Mary's are seen in the top view of this photo.

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