                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2025 November 20

                          Alnitak, Alnilam, Mintaka
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Aygen Erkaslan

   Explanation: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka are the bright bluish stars
   from east to west (upper right to lower left) along the diagonal in
   this cosmic vista. Otherwise known as the Belt of Orion, these three
   blue supergiant stars are hotter and much more massive than the Sun.
   They lie from 700 to 2,000 light-years away, born of Orion's
   well-studied interstellar clouds. In fact, clouds of gas and dust
   adrift in this region have some surprisingly familiar shapes, including
   the dark Horsehead Nebula and Flame Nebula near Alnitak at the upper
   right. The famous Orion Nebula itself is off the right edge of this
   colorful starfield. The telescopic frame spans almost 4 degrees on the
   sky.

                      Tomorrow's picture: interstellar
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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