Bellatrix (Gamma Orionis) is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion, marking the left shoulder of the Hunter. It is a class B2 blue supergiant, about 300 light years away from Earth. Bellatrix appears to be surrounded by a shell of expanding gas indicating the star is ejecting some of its atmosphere into space.
The star is also known as the Amazon Star and the "warrior woman" and it is appropriate that the only reference to Bellatrix in Star Trek is by Captain Kathryn Janeway of the USS Voyager. In the episode "Relativity", she referred to 'Bellatrix' as the original Arabic name for Gamma Orionis. However, the name "Bellatrix" is actually Latin in origin and means "Amazon" . The real Arabic name for this star was al Najid, "the conqueror."
The 16th century astronomer Thomas Hood wrote that women born under this star "shall have mighty tongues".
