William Tyler Olcott

“ It is an education in the nebular theory of the universe merely to look at this spot with a good telescope. If we do not gaze at it long and wistfully, and return to it many times with unflagging interest, we may be certain that there is not the making of an astronomer in us."
A fitting conclusion to this sketch of Orion and its stars, is a quotation from Mrs. Martin's Friendly Stars respecting the constellation: "With all its wonders and its beauties it is not strange that Orion should be one of the most familiar and most admired of all the constellations. ”

“ The Hindus connect in a legend, Aldebaran, the red star in the eye of the Bull, Sirius, known to them as "the Deer-slayer," and Orion, which they regard as "a Stag." The story is as follows: "The Lord of created beings fell in love with his daughter. She took the form of a dove and fled. He thereupon changed himself into a stag and pursued her, but was shot by Sirius, who was selected by the indignant gods to slay him."
The three stars in the head of the Mighty Hunter constitute one of the Hindu lunar stations known as "the antelope's head, " in accordance with this myth. ”

“ In mythology Orion is connected with the constellation of the Scorpion, and it is related that Orion boasted that there was not an animal on earth which he could not conquer. To punish his vanity, it is said, a scorpion sprang out of the earth and bit his foot, causing his death. At the request of Diana he was placed among the stars opposite his slayer. ”

“ According to the Greek legend, Orion pursued the Pleiades, which were considered doves or virgins, and was confronted by the Bull. Cetus was not involved in the struggle, but was engaged in a combat with Perseus.
There is in the threatening attitude of the Mighty Hunter as he stands facing the advancing Bull, carrying
... on his arm the lion's hide,
to ward off an attack, and his club raised to strike a blow, every indication of an attempt on the part of the inventor of the constellation to indicate a conflict to the death between Orion and the Bull. ”

“ Newcomb estimated that it exceeds our sun in brilliance not less than ten thousand times. It is a double star, the companion being of the ninth magnitude, and blue in colour, but it is difficult to glimpse in a small telescope owing to the lustre of its primary. ”

“ The nebula itself covers a space equal to the apparent size of the moon, but nebulosity extends over a much greater area. Its spectrum is purely gaseous, and its mass is said to be 4.5 million times that of the sun. ”

“ One Arab title for it was "the Roaring Conqueror," or "the Conquering Lion." It marks the left shoulder of the Giant.
Allen tells us that in an Amazon River myth, Bellatrix figures as a young boy in a canoe with an old man, represented by the star Betelgeuze. They are said to be chasing the Peixie Boi, a dark spot in the sky near Orion.
In astrology Bellatrix was the natal star of all destined to great civil or military honours, and rendered all women born under its influence lucky and loquacious. ”

“ According to a Jewish tradition, this constellation was appropriated to himself by a particularly mighty man. The Hebrews knew Orion as "the Giant," bound to the sky for rebellion against Jehovah, and Allen thinks that this may be the explanation of the well-known phrase "the Bands or Bonds of Orion."
The Chinese called Orion "Tsan," which signifies "Three," and corresponds to the "Three Kings," a title sometimes applied to the three prominent stars in the "Belt." The Chinese also knew Orion as "the White Tiger," a title taken from the constellation Taurus, close to Orion. ”