Alright, let’s break it down: the belt’s three stars—Alnitak, Alnilam, Mintaka—are all roughly 1,200 to 1,400 light‑years away, bright enough to be the triangle that gets you off the planet’s surface. Alnilam sits slightly above the line, making it the “tip” if you’re using it to point toward the center of Orion. Alnitak is the leftmost star, a bit dimmer, but its position at the base of the triangle keeps the geometry tight. Mintaka’s the middle, the one you could use as a rough compass if you’re not worried about precision. Together, they’re a simple, reliable navigational cue and a good reminder that the universe doesn’t need flashy lights to guide us—just a steady, methodical line.

I’ve drawn a few sketches on notebook paper—no telescope involved, just the naked eye and a pencil. I mark the belt’s points, draw a line through them, and then trace where that line intersects other constellations. It turns out the line points toward the middle of Orion’s “S” shape, so you get a rough bearing to the Orion Nebula if you extend it. I’ll bring my sketchbook if you’re up for it, but I’m not promising it’ll be a masterpiece—just a sober, step‑by‑step map that’s more useful for debugging than for navigation.

Sounds good—I'll bring the sketchbook, the pen, and maybe a ruler to keep the lines straight. If you bring a telescope or even just a blanket to lie on, we can see how the belt lines up with the Orion Nebula. The only risk is me over‑analyzing the angle and you ending up looking at the sky for an extra hour. But hey, at least we’ll have a chart that’s accurate enough to debug the cosmos.