Orion's Belt

asterism

Orion's Belt or Belt of Orion is belt of 3 stars in one line in the constellation Orion. Ancient Arabic names of these 3 stars are Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. These 3 stars are named by astronomers as ζ Ori (Alnitak), ε Ori (Alnilam), and δ Ori (Mintaka). These 3 stars are best visible in the night sky during the month of January.[1][2]

The Belt of Orion
In this broader view, the belt (The three stars in the center) is seen in relation to nearby features in the Orion constellation.
An image of Orion's Belt. It was made up from digitized black-and-white photographic plates recorded through red and blue astronomical filters, with a computer synthesized green channel. The plates were taken using the Samuel Oschin Telescope between 1987 and 1991

References

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  1. "APOD: 2009 February 10 - Orion s Belt". apod.nasa.gov.
  2. "APOD: 2003 February 7 - Orion on Film". apod.nasa.gov.