Alnilam
The middle star of Orion’s Belt, a blue supergiant.
Tonight from
Rise, highest point and set are worked out on your device for the place above.
What it is
- Brightness
- Magnitude 1.69, the 31st brightest star in the night sky
- Distance
- About 2,000 light years
- Kind of star
- Blue-white supergiant, spectral type B0 Ia
- Light it gives out
- About 67,000 times the Sun’s, in visible light
- Constellation
- Orion, where it is ε Orionis
- Catalogue number
- HIP 26311
Figures from HYG database 4.1 (Hipparcos, Yale Bright Star and Gliese catalogues), CC BY-SA 4.0. All sources
Near it in the sky
- AlnitakA blue supergiant in Orion, right beside it, a finger’s width away.
- MintakaA blue bright giant in Orion, right beside it, a finger’s width away.
- Orion NebulaA nebula in Orion, about three fingers away.
- BellatrixA blue-white giant in Orion, about a fist away.
- RigelA blue-white supergiant in Orion, about a fist away.