Star profile
Chi 2 Orionis
Hot blue starWhat is Chi 2 Orionis
Chi-2 Orionis is a B2 blue supergiant, one of the standard stars by which astronomers have calibrated the whole class since 1943. Though at 1,802 light-years she looks only faintly bright, her intrinsic luminosity beats Rigel by almost a full absolute magnitude: without intervening dust she would dominate Orion. She pulses very softly as an Alpha Cygni variable, beating once every 2.87 days, almost imperceptibly.
Where it is and when to see it
Chi 2 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 59° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 69° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 36° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 70° S.
It ranks no. 34 in brightness among the 128 stars of Orion in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rigel, the brightest: it lies about 31° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 1,800 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Chi 2 Orionis
- Constellation
- Orion
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.64
- Distance
- 1802.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 90.980° · Dec 20.138°
- Catalogue
- HIP 28716 · HD 41117
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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
- Psi 2 Orionis4.59
- Upsilon Orionis4.62
- Pi 1 Orionis4.64
- 11 Orionis4.65
- Omicron 1 Orionis4.71