Mintaka: how to find it and when to see it
Mintaka ranks 71st of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 2.25, in the constellation Orion.
You can see it from anywhere south of 90° N, and it's highest in the evening sky in January.
Mintaka at a glance
- Constellation
- Orion
- Magnitude
- 2.25
- Rank on our list
- 71 of 74
- Hemisphere
- Southern
- Right ascension
- 5 h 32 min
- Declination
- 0.3° south
- Visible from
- south of 90° N
- Never sets
- south of 90° S
- Best evening
- January 28
- Name from
- Arabic
Where Mintaka is in the sky
Mintaka sits 0.3° south of the celestial equator, the line in the sky directly above Earth's equator, so it's in the southern half of the sky. Its right ascension is 5 h 32 min.
Right ascension works like longitude on the sky. It's counted in hours, and about one hour of it turns past you each hour of the night.
When and where to see Mintaka
From the northern hemisphere
From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Mintaka rises in the east, climbs to 50° above the horizon in the south and sets in the west.
It's in the evening sky from November to April, and it's highest in the evening around January 28, in winter.
From the southern hemisphere
From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Mintaka rises in the east, climbs to 56° above the horizon in the north and sets in the west.
It's in the evening sky from November to April, and it's highest in the evening around January 28, in summer.
How high Mintaka climbs from each latitude
The evening is about 9 pm local time, or 10 pm during daylight saving time, and later when the sky is still too bright. A star counts as in the evening sky when it's at least 10° above the horizon.
| Latitude | Visibility | Highest point | Evening sky |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60° N | Rises and sets | 30° in the south | Dec to Mar |
| 50° N | Rises and sets | 40° in the south | Nov to Mar |
| 40° N | Rises and sets | 50° in the south | Nov to Apr |
| 30° N | Rises and sets | 60° in the south | Nov to Apr |
| 20° N | Rises and sets | 70° in the south | Nov to Apr |
| Equator | Rises and sets | Overhead | Nov to Apr |
| 20° S | Rises and sets | 70° in the north | Nov to Apr |
| 34° S | Rises and sets | 56° in the north | Nov to Apr |
| 45° S | Rises and sets | 45° in the north | Nov to Apr |
What the name Mintaka means
Mintaka comes from the Arabic al-minṭaqah, the belt. It's the western star of Orion's Belt.
Keep the sky of a night that matters
Our star maps show the stars above any place, at the minute you choose, with the constellation lines drawn in. If Mintaka was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.
Questions about Mintaka
Mintaka is in Orion. It sits 0.3° south of the celestial equator, at a right ascension of 5 h 32 min.
Mintaka is highest in the evening sky around January 28. That's winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere.
Yes, from anywhere south of 90° N. From 40° N, it climbs to 50° above the horizon in the south.
Mintaka has a magnitude of 2.25, which ranks it 71st of the 74 bright stars on our list. Sirius looks about 30 times brighter.
Mintaka comes from the Arabic al-minṭaqah, the belt. It's the western star of Orion's Belt.