Asterisms · Asterism · 3 stars across Orion
Asterism
Orion's Belt
Orion’s Belt: three stars in a straight line — maybe the most recognised pattern on Earth, and a different thing in every culture.
- Stars
- Alnilam, Alnitak, Mintaka
- Constellation
- Orion
- Spans
- about 3° of sky
- Highest at midnight
- mid December
Other skies
The Three Kings, the Three Marys, Frigg’s Distaff, three zebras chased by a hunter, the spine of a bison, three brothers fishing in a canoe.
Look for
It points one way to Sirius and the other to Aldebaran. Mintaka is almost exactly on the celestial equator: it rises due east from anywhere on Earth.