This photograph of the Orion's Belt depicts three prominent stars in the winter sky: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka. Within the constellation of Orion, these three stars are 1,500 light-years away from Earth. The bright blue stars are hotter, and larger than the Sun and were created from Orion's interstellar clouds. Alnitak is located near large dust clouds such as the Horsehead Nebula and the Flame Nebula. Alnilam is located in the middle of the other two stars in the belt and is by far the most luminous. Alnilam appropriately means 'string of pearls', a name which Orion's belt clearly represents. Mintaka is a double star and is located only a quarter of a degree away from the celestial equator. These three stars make a beautiful arrangement in the night sky as some of the brightest stars in the winter sky.
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