Orion's Sword

Orion's Sword is a small line of stars lying about three degrees south of Orion's belt. The stars in the sword are mostly of 4th and 5th magnitude, but Nair al Saif, at the bottom of the sword, is a 3rd magnitude star. In the middle of the sword is the Great Orion Nebula, one of the brightest and most famous nebulae in the sky. To the naked eye the nebula appears as a fuzzy star, but it can be clearly seen using binoculars. Orion's Belt and Sword are among the most familiar asterisms in the sky. Look for Orion in the evening sky during winter months in the northern hemisphere, or summer months in the southern hemisphere.