APOD 3.1

Today I chose to write about Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka because of how unique they are in the night sky. They are the only 3 2nd magnitude stars in the night sky that line up to form an almost perfectly straight line. These stars look astounding in this picture as they are a very bright blue and dwarf our own Sun in comparison to its size. There are also several other unique astronomical sights that are in this picture, such as the Horsehead Nebula and the Flame Nebula. All of these things combine to create a beautiful picture. This is the major reason that this area of the sky is so interesting to look at, there are over 7 bright stars in a very small area along with nebulae and other objects that are fascinating to study.