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Orion is the constellation that changes the least as seen from the nearby stars of Local Space. Most of the brightest stars in Orion are relatively far away and this causes the stars in Orion to move relatively little as the perspective changes. However, the stars do shift and this causes Orion to take on different appearances depending on where in Local Space it is viewed from.
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The constellation Orion has traditionally been depicted as a hunter holding a shield and wielding a club. The shield is the line of six Pi stars to the west of the figure (right in the diagram) and the club extends above Betelgeuse to the northeast (upper left in the diagram). Orion also has a prominent line of three stars (Delta Orionis or Mintaka, Epsilon Orionis or Alnilam and Zeta Orionis or Alnitak) that form an asterism known as the Belt of Orion. To the south of the Belt (below in the diagram) lies another asterism known as the Sword of Orion.
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When seen from the Southern Hemisphere, Orion is inverted when compared to the view from the Northern Hemisphere. The central part of Orion is sometimes called The Saucepan in Australia (see diagram). The three Belt stars form the base of the Saucepan, the Sword of Orion is the handle, and other bright stars in the centre of Orion form the sides of the Saucepan.
Most of the bright stars in the constellation Orion are located at more than 200 light years from Sol. Two stars that are closer than 200 light years are Mu Orionis at about 157 light years, and Pi3 Orionis at a close 26 light years. These two stars are excluded from the following comparisons of the shape of the constellation Orion as seen from various stars of Local Space.
Of the five remaining Pi stars, Pi1 is located 113 light years from Sol, and Pi2 is located 267 light years from Sol. These stars have been retained in the constellation figure because they provide interesting distortions.
With a distance of 268 light years, the star Bellatrix at the shoulder of Orion is significantly closer to Sol than the other major stars in Orion. When viewed from different locations, the relative movement of Bellatrix in relation to the other major stars causes Orion to change from having broad shoulders, narrow shoulders or even more interesting deformities depending on the perspective.
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The above map shows the locations of the systems shown below, as seen from the direction of Alnilam and 120 light years from Sol. The systems 40 Eridani, 70 Ophiuchi and Proxima are close to Sol as seen from Orion, whereas the other systems are displaced further from Sol. This displacement is reflected in the appearance of Orion as seen from these systems.
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Located 4.22 light years from Sol, Proxima is our first stop in our exploration of the different views of Orion as seen in Local Space. As seen from Proxima, Orion looks much the same.
The most obvious difference is that Sirius has moved into Orion, and now shines near the shoulder of Orion as the second-brightest star as seen from Proxima (with Alpha Centauri being the brightest).
Another noticeable difference is the movement of Pi3 Orionis away from the Shield of Orion, travelling far enough away that it is no longer in Orion. Pi3 Orionis is close enough to Sol that it is actually within the outer boundaries of Local Space, and thus can be found anywhere in the sky depending on from where in Local Space it is viewed.
Other stars in Orion do not move much, so the constellation is virtually unchanged from the view as seen from Sol. A close comparison between the view from Proxima and the view from Sol will reveal many stars that shift their positions slightly. However, the general shape of the constellation is mostly unchanged because most of the main stars of Orion are relatively distant.
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Orion appears much the same when it is seen from systems that view Orion from a similar direction to Sol.
Omicron2 Eridani A is 16.39 light years from Sol. The system is located closer to Orion than Sol, and is in the same part of the sky as Orion. From here, Orion would be readily recognisable to citizens of Earth, with only slight changes to the positions of most of the major stars of Orion. Because it is closer, Orion appears slightly larger from here, but this difference in size is not noticeable.
70 Ophiuchi A is located farther from Orion than Sol, and is 16.64 light years from Sol. The constellation of Orion does not change much when viewed from here because 70 Ophiuchi A is located opposite to Orion as seen from Sol, and thus the view of Orion from here is almost the same as the view from Sol. Indeed, Sol is actually a part of Orion as seen from 70 Ophiuchi A, where it shines as a third-magnitude star near the Belt of Orion.
Orion is more distorted when seen from a system that lies to one side of the line connecting Orion to Sol.
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From the perspective of 96 Piscium, the closer stars of Orion are displaced to the left because Sol lies in that direction. Pi1 Orionis and Pi2 Orionis are displaced towards Lambda Orionis.
From Alpha Mensae, the Shield of Orion is stretched out quite a lot and cannot be traced easily. However, the five stars of the Sword of Orion lie in a straight line, and thus the Sword of Orion looks more like a sword from here than it does from Sol.
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From 61 Virginis, Orion looks more like an old man wielding a walking-stick and yelling at the kids to get off the lawn.
From 61 Ursae Majoris, the figure of Orion is even more distorted, and Orion looks like a hunchback.
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From Sigma Draconis and Delta Trianguli, Orion is also distorted. Nevertheless, the figure of Orion can still be made out without much difficulty.
One must travel more than 30 light years before the figure of Orion is distorted so that it can no longer be recognised. To see some views of Orion from greater distances, see Views of Orion at Orion’s Arm.
