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Alnitak (ζ Orionis) is a triple star system at the eastern end of Orion's belt and is 1,260 light-years from the Earth. Alnitak B is a 4th-magnitude B-type star which orbits Alnitak A every 1,500 years. The primary (Alnitak A) is itself a close binary, comprising Alnitak Aa (a blue supergiant of spectral type O9.7 Ibe and an apparent magnitude ...
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Orion’s Belt is the most conspicuous feature of the constellation Orion. The Hunter is one of the most recognizable constellations in the sky. Its major stars form a distinctive human figure in the sky that represents the Greek mythical character. The seven brightest stars in Orion outline the Hunter’s hourglass-shaped figure. Meissa (Lambda Ori) m...
Orion’s Belt consists of three exceptionally hot and massive blue stars, Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka. The stars are evenly spaced and form a more or less straight line, which makes them easy to identify. Two of the three stars are supergiants. The stars formed in the same molecular cloud and are roughly the same age. Alnitak and Mintaka, the left...
Orion’s Belt lies just below the celestial equator. The celestial equator is the projection of the Earth’s equator into space. The Sun appears directly above it during the equinoxes. Orion is one of the 15 equatorial constellations. These constellations are visible from virtually anywhere on the globe for at least part of the year. They culminate h...
For observers in the northern latitudes, Orion’s Belt is visible throughout autumn, winter, and spring at some point in the night. In January, the constellation Orionappears high above the southern horizon around 10 pm. By April, it moves to the southwest and begins to set earlier. In May, it is low above the western horizon around 8 pm and sets af...
The three stars of Orion’s Belt are members of the Orion OB1b group, a subgroup of the larger Orion OB1 association. They were formed in the same molecular cloud and share a common proper motion through space. For this reason, Orion’s Belt looks more or less the same as it did millennia ago. Orion’s Belt and the constellation Orion have been known ...
Mar 10, 2023 · Additional resources. Orion's Belt is a line of three stars located around the middle of the constellation Orion. The belt is perhaps the most recognizable feature of Orion. Visible around the ...
- Ed Browne
Orion’s Belt is a popularly known grouping of stars (asterism) in the night sky. It consists of three bright stars within the constellation Orion. It is easy to find Orion’s Belt in the night sky in the fall and winter months from the northern hemisphere. You can use this pattern of three stars to help you locate other stars and deep-space ...
Jan 20, 2020 · Alnitak is a triple star system that is situated in the eastern end of Orion’s belt. The star is 1.260 light-years away from Earth. Alnilam is a supergiant at around 2.000 light-years away from Earth, located in the middle of the belt.
Map showing the Orion OB1 association, which contains the blue supergiants of Orion's Belt and the Orion Nebula. Betelgeuse is believed to be a runaway star that was ejected from the Orion OB1 association. The kinematics of Betelgeuse are complex. The age of Class M supergiants with an initial mass of 20 M ☉ is roughly 10 million years.
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Feb 14, 2012 · A Tale of Two Stars: The Inside Story of Orion's Belt. News. By Joe Rao. ... Rigel (the "Left Leg of the Giant"), is a blue-white supergiant star, one of the rarest breeds in our galaxy. But with ...
- 3 min
- Joe Rao
