A bright fixed star in the constellation Orion, the leftmost star in Orion's Belt, one of the brightest stars visible from Earth.
From Arabic al-nitāq, meaning 'the belt' or 'the girdle,' referring to the belt of Orion. It's one of many constellation star names that came through Arabic astronomical tradition.
Alnitak means 'the belt' in Arabic, and it literally IS the brightest star of Orion's Belt—so the name perfectly describes what it is, which makes you realize Arab astronomers weren't just cataloging stars, they were telling stories about them.
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