The constellation of orion?

F

Firefly

New member
I saw the constellation of orion last night, rare to see in london because of street lights and it freaked me out a little bit because there was two stars (maybe Rigel and Betelguese) that looked like there were flashing red and white, at first i thought it was a helicopter but there was no sound so i was looking at it for ages and the belt was very feint but the two maybe 3 other star points kept flashing red. were my eyes playing tricks on me? i would like a scientific explanation or identification of the stars if anyone has one, thanks :)
 
Yes, those were Betelgeuse and Rigel you were looking at. The reason why they twinkle and seem to change colors is that the light from the stars are being refracted at slightly different angles by layers of air at slightly different temperatures and velocities, if the air is turbulent at any level from the surface through the stratosphere as you are looking at the star. This is basic optics of reflection and refraction of electromagnetic radiation.

http://astroprofspage.com/archives/1168
 
More than likely the atmosphere causing the flickering effect. The effect you see when looking along a hot road in the distance. Try looking slightly to one side of the star but being aware that it is still in your field of view, this may help you to not strain your eyes and cause them to go squiffy.
 
More than likely the atmosphere causing the flickering effect. The effect you see when looking along a hot road in the distance. Try looking slightly to one side of the star but being aware that it is still in your field of view, this may help you to not strain your eyes and cause them to go squiffy.
 
rigel is a blue super-giant star, and betelguese is a red giant.
rigel is probably the brightest star in our corner of the galaxy, but it is variable in brightness. betelguese is one of the best examples of the variation in the colour of stars that can be seen with the naked eye.
 
Back
Top