Just in case you were wondering about the name of this blog, Mintaka is a beautiful brilliant blue (well I don’t know if it’s blue but I suppose you could sort of say it looks kinda blue) double-star solar system in the constellation of Orion. It’s warm and it’s fiery and it’s nurturing. Or at least that’s how I imagine it would be seeing as it’s a system with 2 suns.
If you look at the photo, er, I mean, painting (courtesy of my website) you’ll see the 3 large blue stars in a row. Those form Orion’s famous belt. Looking towards the photo, Mintaka is the outermost star on the right.
You can read about the story of Mintaka and its pristine seas here at The Story of The Seas Of Mintaka, where you can find out more about this beautiful star system, why it once boasted such gorgeous, crystalline seas and what ever happened to them.
This blog was originally titled “Where the Seas of Mintaka and Alboran Meet.” That got to be quite a mouthful, however, hence the change in name. Nonetheless, you might be interested (or you might not!) in knowing why the Sea of Alboran?
Well, I live by the Sea of Alboran. Alboran is a tiny tiny little island in the Mediterranean between Spain and Africa. It’s too small to live on, but the seas around it, named the Sea of Alboran, are fresh and clear and filled with blue-green algae and ruddy coral. A most spectacular place for people who are into scuba diving.