Rigel: A super-blue Giant at the foot of Orion

Stars light up the night sky and open our minds and curiosity to what's beyond our solar system. But the reality is most people live in light polluted areas and take stars for granted. Here in the Atacama Desert you can see upto 6,000 stars in the night sky, the Orion Constellation being the most dominant through the summer months.

Back in the observatory, this time I was focused on stars and particularly the Orion Constellation which is so prominent during the summer nights here in the southern hemisphere. For those of you who are not familiar with Orion it is the hunter in greek mythology. Here's some more facts about Orion to understand it better

Betelgeuse: A super-red giant at Orion's shoulder

I'll be honest with you, I'm not the type of astronomy guide that will tell you romantic stories about Greek and Roman mythology, my tours are very scientific. However, constellations are not only about mythology but also a way astronomers locate certain objects in the cosmos. By locating Orion I can immediately locate many objects like the super-blue giant Rigel and super-red giant Betelgeuse stars. Photographing those stars was my mission and bringing out the true colours of these stars that many people often miss.