Orion's Belt is part of a larger constellation called The Hunter. Orion is a very prominent and popular constellation, perhaps being the best-known and most conspicuous constellation in the sky. Orion's three "belt" stars are found on the celestial equator and are visible throughout the worlds. The three belt stars are of medium brightness and are the medium part of the constellation. In mid-northern latitudes, the constellation is visible in the evening from October to early January, and in the morning from lat July to November.

Orion is not the only name for The Hunter. In Australia the belt and sword of Orion are sometimes called the Saucepan. It is called the Drie Konings (Three Kings) by Afrikaans and Trois Rois (The Three Kings) by the French. Both of these names are founds in 17th and 18th century seaman's guides. Historically it is also referred to as Babylonian "Shepherd of Anu."

Orion's Belt was configured roughly 1.5 million years ago due to the relatively slow movements of the stars within the constellation. Orion is estimated to remain visible for the next one to two million years. This makes it one of the longest observable constellations parallel to the rise of human civilization.

Because of the correlation between Orion's age and the birth of human civilization, Orion is recognizable throughout mythology. The three stars of Orion's Belt were at one point associated with Osiris, the god of death and the underworld by the ancient Egyptians. Sumerians saw this patter as part of a shepherd or chariot while in China Orion was on e of the twenty eight lunar mansions.

References in the ancient Middle East were to the best and sword, which echoes throughout modern western literature.



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