Star profile
Pi 4 Orionis
Hot blue starWhat is Pi 4 Orionis
Pi-4 Orionis forms part of the shield that Orion the Hunter raises against the charging horns of Taurus. It is a hot blue B-type giant, one of those massive stars that live fast and burn at brutal temperatures before exhausting themselves in a few million years. Its light takes more than a thousand years to reach us: what we see tonight set out before the Normans crossed the English Channel, and crosses space with the electric blue characteristic of the youngest, most violent stars.
Where it is and when to see it
Pi 4 Orionis lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is December, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 44° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 55° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 50° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 84° S.
It ranks no. 13 in brightness among the 128 stars of Orion in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rigel, the brightest: it lies about 15° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 1,100 years ago.
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Pi 4 Orionis
- Constellation
- Orion
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.68
- Distance
- 1052.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 72.802° · Dec 5.605°
- Catalogue
- HIP 22549 · HD 30836
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Other stars in Orion
Orion has 128 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- RigelBeta Orionis0.18
- BetelgeuseAlpha Orionis0.45
- BellatrixGamma Orionis1.64
- Eta Orionis3.35
- MeissaLambda Orionis3.39
- Tau Orionis3.59
- Pi 5 Orionis3.71
- Sigma Orionis3.77