---
name: Mintaka (δ Ori)
constellation: Ori
created_by: 8mag
created_date: 2022-01-21 17:00:00
updated_by: skybber
updated_date: 2022-02-06 11:55:37.471347
---
the true blue-white star of the belt near the celestial equator. This is one of the easiest pairs to distinguish - a telescope with a 5 cm diameter lens will suffice. We'll see the pale blue 6.9mag companion next to the main component at a distance of 52.6". This is probably a real star pair, even though the components are half a light year apart. So their mutual orbital period could be a million years. The system lies at a distance of 2,350 light years. The main component is also a variable star, but with a very small change in brightness (about 2.2 mag).