What is Orion's Belt?
Orion's Belt is a row of three bright stars in the constellation Orion: Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. It is one of the easiest star patterns to spot in the night sky.
Orion represents a hunter from Greek mythology. The three belt stars sit in a nearly straight line across the middle of the figure. Below the belt hangs Orion's sword, which contains the Orion Nebula, a cloud where new stars are being born. Orion is best seen in evening skies from about November to March in the Northern Hemisphere.
Although the belt stars look similar, they are at different distances from Earth, roughly 700 to 2,000 light-years away. All three are hot, massive blue stars, much brighter than the Sun. Orion also includes the red supergiant Betelgeuse at one shoulder and the bright blue star Rigel at one foot.
A handy pointer
Following the belt's line down to the left leads to Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Following it up to the right leads toward Aldebaran in Taurus. Because Orion lies on the celestial equator, it can be seen from almost everywhere on Earth.
Did You Know?
In some cultures, Orion's Belt is known as the Three Kings or the Three Sisters.