Star profile
Xi Orionis
Hot blue starWhat is Xi Orionis
ξ Orionis is a hot blue star located north of the famous hunter, beyond the Belt but within his shield —or, in some atlases, his raised club. Like most of Orion's great blues, it shares kinship with the giants that draw the figure: young, brilliant and fleeting. Its electric flame stands among the torches that arm the winter warrior.
Where it is and when to see it
Xi 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 Xi Orionis
- Constellation
- Orion
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.45
- Distance
- 607.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 92.985° · Dec 14.209°
- Catalogue
- HIP 29426 · HD 42560
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
- Phi 1 Orionis4.39
- Chi 1 Orionis4.39
- Nu Orionis4.42
- Rho Orionis4.46
- Pi 6 Orionis4.47