Mintaka is a complex multiple system. At the heart of the system is a giantbluestar, which has at least one close companion whose eclipses of the giant cause its magnitude to vary every 5.7 days. Beyond the primary lie two more stars in more distant orbits, and the outermost of these is itself a binary system.
The westernmost of the stars that make up Orion's Belt is also the faintest, as seen
from Earth. In fact, Mintaka is a highly luminous body, but appears faint due to its
great distance: it is almost seven hundred light years from the Solar System. At a distance
of ten parsecs, it would shine more brightly than the planetVenus.
Mintaka is the western of the three stars of Orion's Belt. The central Belt-starAlnilam, slightly brighter than Mintaka, is visible to the southeast (lower left) here. Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas
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