- Mintaka - which is a double star, is 915 light years from Earth and is a double star. The stars orbit around each other every 5.73 days. In this photo you can see the double star. Mintaka comes from an Arabic word meaning "the belt".
- Alnilam - this star is 1340 light years away from the Earth. Alnilam is a blue-white supergiant and is related to an Arabic word meaning "string of pearls".
- Alnitak - this star is 736 light years away from the Earth. This is a triple star although the other stars in the system cannot be seen in this photo. Alnitak comes from an Arabic word meaning "the girdle".
For a great photo from NASA of Orion's belt and the surrounding area go here.
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