Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.
Orion's Belt
| Orion's Belt | |
|---|---|
 Orion's Belt and nebulosity, including the Flame Nebula (left) and Horsehead Nebula (lower left) named after a relatively small dark cloud, rotated 90° somewhat resembling a seahorse | |
| Observation data | |
| Right ascension | 05h 00m 00s[1] |
| Declination | −05° 00′ 00″[1] |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Associations | |
| Constellation | Orion |
Orion's Belt is an asterism in the constellation of Orion. Other names include the Belt of Orion, the Three Kings, and the Three Sisters.[1] The belt consists of three bright and easily identifiable collinear star systems – Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka – nearly equally spaced in a line, spanning an angular size of ~140′ (2.3°).[2]
Owing to the high surface temperatures of their constituent stars, the intense light emitted is blue-white in color. In spite of their spot-like appearance, only Alnilam is a single star; Alnitak is a triple star system, and Mintaka a hextuple. All three owe their luminosity to the presence of one or more blue supergiants. The brightest as viewed from Sol is Alnilam, with an apparent magnitude of 1.69,[3] followed by Alnitak at 1.74[4] and Mintaka at 2.25.[5] The ten stars of the three systems have a combined luminosity approximately 970,000 times that of the Sun.
Orion's Belt appears widely in historical literature and in various cultures, under many different names. It has played a central role in astral navigation in the Northern hemisphere since prehistoric times. It is considered to be among the clearest constellations in the winter sky,[6] although it is not visible during summer, when the Sun is too visually close.
The discredited archeological Orion correlation theory postulated a connection between the positions of the Giza pyramids and those of the belt, with the linkage shown to be spurious when placed within the proper historical context.[7]
- ^ a b c "Orion Constellation: Facts, location and stars of the hunter". Space.com. 4 November 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- ^ Zack, Malcolm; et al. (2018). Stargazing Under Suburban Skies, A Star-Hopper's Guide. Springer International Publishing. p. 102. ISBN 9783319901169.
- ^ Guide, Universe (25 January 2015). "Alnitak / Zeta Orionis Star Facts (Type, Distance, Magnitude, Age, Colour, Location and more) - Universe Guide". www.universeguide.com. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ Guide, Universe (25 January 2015). "Alnitak / Zeta Orionis Star Facts (Type, Distance, Magnitude, Age, Colour, Location and more) - Universe Guide". www.universeguide.com. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ Guide, Universe (25 January 2015). "Mintaka / Delta Orionis Star Facts (Type, Distance, Magnitude, Age, Mass, Colour, Location and more) - Universe Guide". www.universeguide.com. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ "How to Find Orion's Belt in the Night Sky". HowStuffWorks. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ Orofino, Vincenzo (28 September 2011). "A quantitative astronomical analysis of the Orion Correlation Theory". arXiv:1109.6266v2 [physics.hist-ph].
Previous Page Next Page
