Star profile
Omega Orionis
Variable starWhat is Omega Orionis
ω Orionis lies just north of Orion's Belt, about 1,380 light-years away. It is a Be star: a blue B3 spinning at dizzying speed —close to 450 km/s at the equator— flinging material into a gaseous disc around itself. That mass loss makes its brightness flicker, marking it as a γ Cassiopeiae variable, caught between rotation and its own instability.
Where it is and when to see it
Omega 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 43° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 53° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 52° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 86° S.
It ranks no. 28 in brightness among the 128 stars of Orion in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rigel, the brightest: it lies about 14° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 1,400 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 Omega Orionis
- Constellation
- Orion
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.50
- Distance
- 1382.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 84.796° · Dec 4.121°
- Catalogue
- HIP 26594 · HD 37490
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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
- Xi Orionis4.45
- Rho Orionis4.46
- Pi 6 Orionis4.47
- HIP 284134.53
- 42 Orionis4.58