Star profile
Saiph
Kappa Orionis · Orion
Hot blue starWhat is Saiph
Saiph closes off Orion at the lower-east corner, opposite the ruddy Betelgeuse. Its Arabic name means 'sword of the giant', and though it appears fainter than its siblings, it is in fact a colossal blue star burning far away — some 647 light-years off. The light reaching you tonight set out around the mid-fourteenth century, during the years of the Black Death in Europe.
Where it is and when to see it
Saiph lies in the southern 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
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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 Saiph
- Constellation
- Orion
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.07
- Distance
- 647.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 86.939° · Dec -9.670°
- Catalogue
- HIP 27366 · HD 38771
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
- AlnilamEpsilon Orionis1.69
- AlnitakZeta Orionis1.74
- MintakaDelta Orionis2.25
- HatysaIota Orionis2.75
- TabitPi 3 Orionis3.19