ORION’S NATURE Acrylic on Canvas 12 x 12 x 1.5 in (30.5 x 30.5 x 1.8 cm) $500.00

Image from NASA Hubble Space Telescope: Orion Bar Nebula

The artist painted the Orion Bar to pay homage to the universe’s intense display of color, movement, and chaos. It spoke to her as if the night sky were saying that all the chaos of the world will pass, just as this will too.

It is a small part of the Orion Nebula, a vast stellar nursery where new stars are being born. This specific image highlights the Orion Bar, a ridge of gas and dust being sculpted by intense radiation from nearby hot, young stars.

M42 is the entire nebula, and the Orion Bar is a prominent, visually striking feature within M42. Observations of the Orion Nebula provide insight into the conditions present during the formation of our own solar system.

Orion is one of 48 constellations listed by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. Named for a hero of Greek myth killed by the scorpion Scorpius, it’s one of the oldest known constellations and appears in many ancient cultures. Ivory carvings thought to be over 32,000 years old show it. The Babylonians called it the Heavenly Shepherd; the Egyptians saw it as the god Sah. In Greek stories, Orion — son of the sea god Poseidon and Euryale — boasted he would kill every animal. Gaia, angered, sent a scorpion to kill him. The gods then placed Orion and his dogs among the stars, along with the animals he hunted; Scorpius was put on the opposite side of the sky, so Orion and Scorpius are never visible at the same time.

NASA Hubble M16 Nebula

The constellation Orion, the great hunter, is visible from October through March in both hemispheres. It can be seen at latitudes between 85 degrees and -75 degrees.It is without a doubt one of the brightest and most beautiful constellations in the winter sky. Its bright stars form an hourglass shape that can be seen even in urban areas with moderate amounts of light pollution. It contains an asterism of three stars in a straight line known as Orion’s Belt. This is one of the most recognizable groupings of stars in the night sky.

Galatic Location: Orion Constellation

Celestial Phenomenon: Orion Bar within M42

Collection: 88 Constellations