Star
Mintaka
Mintaka is a blue star 692 light-years away, seen as it was 692 years ago, shining 4 943 times as bright as the Sun.
The westernmost star of Orion's Belt, five hot stars in one system. In 1904 a calcium line in its spectrum gave the first detection of the interstellar medium.
See it live
It is on the live 3D map, where it really is.
Key facts
- Distance
- 692 light-years
- Brightness from Earth
- magnitude 2.25
- Spectral type
- O9.5II
- Catalogue
- HIP 25930
See it from here
Bright enough to see with your own eyes from a dark place.
How the map draws it
Drawn as a point of light, sized by how bright it looks from where you are — the kind of thing, not this exact one.