The Fixed Stars

Alnilam

Epsilon Orionis

The string of pearls, from the Arabic an-nizam. It stands at about 24° Gemini (tropical).

The center pearl of the Belt, brightest of the three and perfectly placed.

The middle star of the Belt, and the name says what the eye sees, a string of pearls, with this the centerpiece. Robson gives it the nature of Jupiter and Saturn and a delineation the old books state plainly, it bestows public honors, though fleeting ones, fame as a season rather than a possession. It is the farthest of the three, a blue supergiant of tremendous true brightness.