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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
wb_twilight Nautical TwilightWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Orion » 

56 Orionis

Altitude: -35.1°   Azimuth: 341.2°   Direction: North-North-West

56 Orionis is a variable and double bright giant star in the constellation of Orion.

56 Orionis visual magnitude is 4.78. Because of its moderate brightness, 56 Orionis should be easily visible from locations with dark skies, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skies affected by light pollution.

The proper motion of 56 Orionis is -0.007 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.012 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of 56 Orionis star
DSS2 image of 56 Orionis. The red arrow shows the motion of 56 Orionis during the next 10000 years (-1.17 arcmin in Right Ascension and -2.00 arcmin in declination);

Key facts about 56 Orionis

4.78
Bright giant

56 Orionis is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -35.1°
Azimuth: 341.2°
Direction: North-North-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 56 Orionis

56 Orionis is situated close to the celestial equator, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of 56 Orionis are provided in the following table:

05h 52m 26s
+01° 51’ 18”
204.41°
-12.22°
Orion

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 56 Orionis in the sky:

Finder chart 56 Orionis star
Simplified finder chart for 56 Orionis.

Visibility of 56 Orionis from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's 56 Orionis rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 88.1°
Max altitude: 40.4°
Azimuth: 271.9°

Distance of 56 Orionis from the Sun and relative movement

56 Orionis is distant 1,112.63 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 10 kilometers per second.

341.30 pc
1,112.63 ly
10 km/s
-0.007 arcsec/year
-0.012 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 56 Orionis

56 Orionis belongs to spectral class K1 and has a luminosity class of II corresponding to a bright giant star.

-2.89
K1II
3983K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 56 Orionis is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of 56 Orionis. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

56 Orionis star system properties

56 Orionis is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the 56 Orionis double sysyem:

4.78
13.18
8.4
43.4 arcsec

Alternative designations of 56 Orionis

SAO113220
SAO113220