Star profile
Alnitak
Zeta Orionis · Orion
Hot blue starWhat is Alnitak
Alnitak, Arabic for 'the belt', is the easternmost of the three aligned stars forming Orion's waist. Its O spectral class betrays a scorching temperature: among the hottest stars the unaided eye can distinguish. Its light has been travelling for 736 years; what we see tonight set off when crusaders contested the Holy Land and the University of Paris had yet to be founded.
Where it is and when to see it
Alnitak lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is December: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Alnitak
- Constellation
- Orion
- Apparent magnitude
- 1.74
- Distance
- 736.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 85.190° · Dec -1.943°
- Catalogue
- HIP 26727 · HD 37742
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Orion
Orion has 128 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- RigelBeta Orionis0.18
- BetelgeuseAlpha Orionis0.45
- BellatrixGamma Orionis1.64
- AlnilamEpsilon Orionis1.69
- SaiphKappa Orionis2.07
- MintakaDelta Orionis2.25
- HatysaIota Orionis2.75
- TabitPi 3 Orionis3.19