One of the most obvious features people see in Orion is the three stars that make up what most people consider the belt of the giant. Mintaka , the westernmost star in the belt, comes from the Arabic word for belt. Alnilam, the center star in the belt, means "a belt of pearls". And Alnitak, the eastern-most star, means the girdle. All three are at the same distance from us and, with Rigel, Saiph, and Meissa, probably formed at about the same time some ten million years ago from the molecular clouds astronomers have found in Orion.
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© Ronald J. Maddalena 1998