Sections

Catalogues

Tools and Links

Galactic Map

Show the direction and distance to this object on the Galactic Map.

Omicron² Orionis

9 Orionis

Orange giant in Orion

Show on Sky Map

Proper Name	None
Bayer Designation	Omicron² Orionis
Flamsteed Number	9 Orionis
HR (BSC)	1580
HD	31421
Constellation	Orion
Right Ascension	4h 56m 22s
Declination	+13° 30' 52"
Distance	180 light years 55 parsecs
Magnitude	Apparent: +4.07 Absolute: +0.36
Spectral Class	K2-IIIFe-1 orange giant
Optimum Visibility	December

An orange star at the northern tip of the arc of stars known as Orion's Shield, Omicron² Orionis falls between blue Bellatrix in Orion and orange Aldebaran in Taurus. Omicron² Orionis is a giant star, with nearly twenty times the Sun's diameter, but this is not unusually large for a giant star.

Omicron² Orionis falls in the northwestern regions of Orion, near the northern end of the formation known as Orion's Shield. Also visible in this image to the northwest of Omicron² is the much more distant Omicron¹ Orionis, a deep red S-type star. Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas

Omicron² Orionis forms part of a wide apparent pair with Omicron¹ Orionis, which lies nearby in the sky. Actually these two 'Omicron' stars are unrelated: Omicron¹ lies more than three times as far from the Solar System as Omicron², and is actually considerably more luminous (though its greater distance makes it appear slightly fainter than Omicron² in the skies of Earth).

Indexes

Related Entries

v2.1g