Visibility
Orion can be easily seen in the night sky from November to February of each year – late autumn to winter in the Northern Hemisphere, late spring to summer in the Southern Hemisphere. In the tropics (less than about 8° from the equator) the constellation transits at the zenith.
In the period May–July (summer in the Northern Hemisphere, winter in the Southern Hemisphere) Orion is in the daytime sky and thus not visible at most latitudes. However for much of Antarctica in the Southern Hemisphere's winter months, the Sun is below the horizon even at midday. Stars (and thus Orion) are then visible at twilight for a few hours around local noon, low in the North. At the same time of day at the South Pole itself (Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station), Rigel is only 8° above the horizon and the Belt sweeps just along it. In the Southern Hemisphere's summer months, when Orion is normally visible in the night sky, the constellation is actually not visible in Antarctica because the sun does not set at that time of year south of the Antarctic Circle.
In countries close to the equator (e.g. Kenya, Indonesia, Colombia, Ecuador) Orion appears overhead in December around midnight and in the February evening sky.
Read more about this topic: Orion (constellation)
Famous quotes containing the word visibility:
“My children have taught me things. Things I thought I knew. The most profound wisdom they have given me is a respect for human vulnerability. I have known that people are resilient, but I didn’t appreciate how fragile they are. Until children learn to hide their feelings, you read them in their faces, gestures, and postures. The sheer visibility of shyness, pain, and rejection let me recognize and remember them.”
—Shirley Nelson Garner (20th century)