Alnilam,
whose name means "The Sapphire" is the middle and brightest star in
Orion's Belt. It can clearly be seen in the photograph. (The middle of
the three "dangling" stars that make up Orion's Sword is actually the
Orion Nebula, one of the few nebulas that can be seen with the naked
eye.) Alnilam itself shines through the nebula NGC 1990 which gives it a
haloed appearance.
This fifteenth star in the Nautical Almanac is a blue supergiant star, 2000 light years from Earth (the light we see from Alnilam left the star during the earthly ministry of Jesus); Alnilam is 500,000 times as bright as our Sun, and as seen from Earth is a Magnitude 1.5 star. It is 35 times as massive as our Sun, and has a radius 24 times as large as our Sun's. It has a temperature of 48,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Due to Alnilam's properties, it is burning rapidly and intensely. Its solar wind blows at the amazing rate of 4,473,873 miles per hour. Alnilam is losing mass at a rate 20,000,000 times faster than our Sun. It is a young star, only six million years old, but it will probably explode in a supernova within one million years when it exhausts its fuel.
This fifteenth star in the Nautical Almanac is a blue supergiant star, 2000 light years from Earth (the light we see from Alnilam left the star during the earthly ministry of Jesus); Alnilam is 500,000 times as bright as our Sun, and as seen from Earth is a Magnitude 1.5 star. It is 35 times as massive as our Sun, and has a radius 24 times as large as our Sun's. It has a temperature of 48,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Due to Alnilam's properties, it is burning rapidly and intensely. Its solar wind blows at the amazing rate of 4,473,873 miles per hour. Alnilam is losing mass at a rate 20,000,000 times faster than our Sun. It is a young star, only six million years old, but it will probably explode in a supernova within one million years when it exhausts its fuel.
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