orions belt | EarthSky

Chart of Orion with a red arrow leading from the Belt of Orion to Sirius.

Orion’s Belt points to Sirius on September mornings

Sirius is the sky's brightest star. But sometimes bright planets outshine it. Orion's Belt is your ticket to identifying Sirius.

Orion's Belt or the Celestial Bridge is found in the east at mid-evening.

See Orion’s Belt as a celestial bridge between hemispheres

Many know Orion's Belt, a short, straight row of 3 stars. Orion's Belt is considered a celestial bridge between the sky's Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Use Orion’s Belt to find 4 bright stars in the sky

How to use Orion's Belt to find 4 bright stars - Betelgeuse and Rigel in Orion - Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull and Sirius in Canis Major.

Use Orion’s Belt to find Mercury

Mercury's greatest eastern elongation - its greatest distance from the sunset - is today. But how can you tell which object you're seeing is Mercury?

Star-hop from Orion to Sirius: See them before they go!

Star-hopping is going from stars you know to stars you don't know. Star-hop from the constellation Orion to Sirius, sky's brightest star, before they're gone.

Large and bright cocoon of gas in violet and yellow, over a multitude of distant stars.

See the best deep-sky photos of February 2026

Enjoy this gallery of deep-sky photos for February 2026 from our EarthSky community. If you have a great photo to share, send it in, too. We love to see them!

Night sky scene with hexagon and figures of constellation superimposed over stars.

What’s a constellation? What’s an asterism?

Constellations and asterisms are patterns of stars. Some asterisms consist of stars from different constellations, and some are part of 1 constellation.

Starry, dark sky with bluish stars from constellation Orion and bright star, Sirius, with 4 streaks.

Is Sirius the most luminous star in the sky?

Sirius is the brightest star in Earth's sky because of how close it is to us. It's so bright you might see glints of different colors flashing from it.

Star chart with large triangle with labeled stars at the corners.

The Winter Triangle stands out in the night sky

The Winter Triangle is a distinct pattern of stars in the night sky formed by 3 of the brightest stars: Sirius, Betelgeuse and Procyon.

A dot, Jupiter, is to the right of two smaller dots, the stars Castor and Pollux. It is also above another dot. They all lie above a horizontal wavy line, the horizon.

Meet Gemini the Twins, home to Jupiter and 2 bright stars

The constellation Gemini the Twins is home to Castor and Pollux. Learn more about these bright stars, visible on northern winter nights.

Hundreds of multicolored donut shapes of different sizes inside a circle on a black background.

Look for the colors of the stars in the night sky

Winter is the perfect time for noticing the colors of the stars. Start with Capella, then move on to Taurus and Orion. Check out some colorful stars tonight!

Constellation Orion (looks like an hourglass), bright star Sirius to the left and star Canopus next to horizon.

Can you see Canopus, the 2nd-brightest star?

Here's how to spot Canopus, the 2nd-brightest star in the sky as seen from Earth, on February evenings. It’s located far south on the sky’s dome.

Wide array of bright but slightly fuzzy stars, mostly blue-white but one reddish, over dark landscape.

See Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky

Sirius is the brightest star as seen from Earth and is visible from both hemispheres. It lies just 8.6 light-years away, in the constellation Canis Major.

Black background with one central white spot with spikes, and a tiny white dot to its left side.

Sirius B: Now is the best time to see Sirius’ companion

Now is a great time to see Sirius' dim companion, Sirius B. The 2 are currently at their maximum separation as viewed from Earth.

Telescopic image of a large, more than half-lit moon with distinct craters and darker blotches.

What are the best targets for binoculars?

The best targets for binoculars in the night sky are the moon, planets, star clusters and nebulae. You can even catch the smudge of distant galaxies in them.

Sky chart with constellation Taurus with Elnath and other stars labeled, and the galactic anticenter marked.

Elnath is a bright star close to the galactic anticenter

The galactic anticenter is opposite the Milky Way's center from our viewpoint on Earth. The closest bright star to the anticenter is Taurus the Bull's Elnath.

Billowing orange ball of fire exploding in brilliant white, surrounded by gas and dust.

Betelgeuse will explode someday, but WHEN?

Will Betelgeuse have another period of noticeable dimming? Betelgeuse will explode as a supernova someday. When it does, it'll be visible in daylight.

Which Milky Way spiral arm contains our sun?

Where do we live in the Milky Way galaxy? We lie between the major arms in a smaller spiral arm known as the Orion Arm. See diagrams here.

A star chart with white dots representing stars connected by light blue lines to trace the shape of the constellation. It is against a blue backdrop.

Orion the Hunter is easy to spot in January

Orion the Hunter is one of the easiest constellations to identify thanks to Orion's Belt, the 3 medium-bright stars in a short, straight row at his waist.

A large, bright, blue-white star in a field of many stars.

Blue-white Rigel is Orion’s brightest star

Blue-white Rigel shines as the brightest star in the constellation Orion the Hunter. It's a hot massive star, that someday will explode as a supernova.

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Orion’s Belt points to Sirius on September mornings

See Orion’s Belt as a celestial bridge between hemispheres

Use Orion’s Belt to find 4 bright stars in the sky

Use Orion’s Belt to find Mercury

Star-hop from Orion to Sirius: See them before they go!

See the best deep-sky photos of February 2026

What’s a constellation? What’s an asterism?

Is Sirius the most luminous star in the sky?

The Winter Triangle stands out in the night sky

Meet Gemini the Twins, home to Jupiter and 2 bright stars

Look for the colors of the stars in the night sky

Can you see Canopus, the 2nd-brightest star?

See Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky

Sirius B: Now is the best time to see Sirius’ companion

What are the best targets for binoculars?

Elnath is a bright star close to the galactic anticenter

Betelgeuse will explode someday, but WHEN?

Which Milky Way spiral arm contains our sun?

Orion the Hunter is easy to spot in January

Blue-white Rigel is Orion’s brightest star