Orion's Belt: Mintaka Traditional Cache

This is the third in a three cache series placed to commemorate a prominent feature within one of the most impressive constellations in the night sky.  You will notice that the series placements mimic the orientation of the belt stars.  The container is sized for only a log so bring your own writing instrument.  The log sheets should hold up well because they are of the Rite in the Rain variety. 

Orion's Belt Stars

The three stars in the belt are Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitak. The meanings of the three stars are: Mintaka (on the west) means “belt”, Alnilam (in center) means “belt of pearls” and Altnitak (right) means “girdle.” The three range between 1000 and 1,400 light-years from Earth

Orion's Belt: Mintaka

Mintaka is a blue giant star in the constellation Orion. At 1,080 light years away, it is the 74th brightest star in the Earth's sky. Mintaka is a component of a multiple-star system. It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 18.6 km/s relative to the Sun and is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud and ASCC 18/20 and ASCC 21 and ASCC 19 and Collinder 70 moving groups. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 25,100 and 30,600 light years from the center of the Galaxy.

Orion Mythology

Orion's current name derives from Greek mythology, in which Orion was a gigantic, supernaturally strong hunter of ancient times, born to Euryale, a Gorgon, and Poseidon, god of the sea in the Graeco-Roman tradition. One myth recounts Gaia's, the great mother goddess, rage at Orion, who dared to say that he would kill every animal on the planet. The angry goddess tried to dispatch Orion with a scorpion. This is given as the reason that the constellations of Scorpius and Orion are never in the sky at the same time. However, Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, revived Orion with an antidote. This is said to be the reason that the constellation of Ophiuchus stands midway between the Scorpion and the Hunter in the sky. Orion and his dogs (Canis Major and Canis Minor) chase after animals in the sky but can’t catch them.

Because Orion is on the celestial equator it is easy to see from anywhere on the world. Some ancient peoples saw the figure as a king who had been shot by an arrow (represented by the stars in Orion’s belt). Ancient Egyptians thought the stars in the belt represented the resting place of the soul of the god Osiris. While others  saw the constellation as the figure of a giant.

The Orion Mystery

The three pyramids of Giza are a perfect reproduction of the 3 stars of Orion’s belt:

• Like the pyramids, the three stars of Orion are not perfectly aligned, the smallest of them is slightly offset.

• All three are slanted in the same direction direction.

• Their orientation to the Nile recreates Orion’s orientation to the Milky Way.

• The layout of the pyramids, and their relative sizes were a deliberate design plan.

The three Pyramids exactly simulate the stars Delta Orionis [Mintaka], Epsilon [Alnilam], and Zeta [Alnitak] that comprise Orion's Belt.