- Hercules is a constellation named after Hercules, the Roman mythological hero adapted from the Greek hero Heracles. Hercules was one of the 48 constellations listed by the second-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. It is the fifth-largest of the modern constellations and is the largest of the 50 which have no stars brighter than apparent magnitude +2.5.
- Mintaka (stars.astro.illinois.edu)
MINTAKA (Delta Orionis). Orion is defined by his great belt, three bright second magnitude stars in a row that the ancient Arabs called “the string of pearls,” which is the meaning of the name of the middle star, Alnilam. The two flanking stars, eastern Alnitak and western Mintaka, both come from Arabic phrases that mean “the belt of the Central One,” the Central One the Arabic personification of our Orion, a woman lost to history.
