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Look up on a clear night, and you’ll spot three brilliant spots in a perfect line – Orion’s Belt. It's of the most famous asterisms in the sky.
If you're wanting the technical definition, an asterism is a prominent group of stars, often with a well-known name, but smaller in size than a full constellation.
Orion's Belt is actually comprised of nine different stars that are close enough to each other to appear as just three spots. At the heart of these spots are massive blue supergiant stars that are far, far larger than the Sun: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.
But before we dive into just how big these stars are, here's a handy visual comparison for refrenece .
Alnitak System
The easternmost spot in the sky is the Alnitak system. This is a triple-star system blazing 1,260 light-years away. Yes, there are actually three stars there.
Its primary star, Alnitak Aa, is the brightest O-type star in the night sky. It is estimated to be up to 28 times as massive as the Sun and have a diameter 20 times greater.
Alnilam System
Alnilam, the center spot seen in Orion, is the most luminous of the three spots. And it's just one star sitting about 2,000 light-years from Earth. It’s a massive, unstable giant destined for a spectacular supernova.
Scientists estimate that Alnilam is 419,600 times as luminous as the Sun and 40 times as massive.
Mintaka System
Mintaka, the westernmost spot in Orion, is actually five stars in one, locked in a cosmic dance 1,200 light-years away. It’s also the closest to the celestial equator, making Orion’s Belt visible from nearly every part of the world. The largest star in this system is about 25 times as massive as the Sun.
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