Star profile
Rho Orionis
What is Rho Orionis
Rho Orionis is an orange K-type giant at three hundred and fifty light-years, settled north of Orion's famous belt. Although it lies outside the hunter's most photographed figures —the belt, the sword, the giant shoulders— its warm tone contrasts with the dominant blues of the most recognisable constellation in the winter sky. An orange note within a blue symphony.
Where it is and when to see it
Rho 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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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 Rho Orionis
- Constellation
- Orion
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.46
- Distance
- 350.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 78.323° · Dec 2.861°
- Catalogue
- HIP 24331 · HD 33856
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
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
- Chi 1 Orionis4.39
- Nu Orionis4.42
- Xi Orionis4.45
- Pi 6 Orionis4.47
- Omega Orionis4.50