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public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 7:20 
Transit: 12:46 
Sunset: 18:11
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All Constellations » Orion » 

Bellatrix - γ Orionis (gamma Orionis)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 22:27 | Tran: 5:01 | Set: 11:31
Alt: 29.29°   Az: 239.98°   Direction: West-South-West

Bellatrix, also designated as γ Orionis (gamma Orionis), is a variable and double giant star of spectral class B2 in the constellation of Orion.

Bellatrix visual magnitude is 1.64, making it the 25th brightest star in the sky. Because of its brightness, Bellatrix is clearly visible to the naked eye when observed from locations with dark skies, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

Image of Bellatrix - γ Orionis (gamma Orionis) star
DSS2 image of Bellatrix. The red arrow shows the motion of Bellatrix during the next 10000 years (-1.50 arcmin in Right Ascension and -2.33 arcmin in declination);

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

05h 26m 27s
+06° 22’ 12”
03h 17m 48s
08h 44m 15s

J2000

05h 25m 07s
+06° 20’ 58”

Galactic Coordinates

196.93°
-15.95°

Finder Chart

Finder chart Bellatrix - γ Orionis (gamma Orionis) star
Simplified finder chart for Bellatrix - γ Orionis (gamma Orionis).

Magnitude, Color, Spectral Class

1.64
Giant

-2.72
B2III
14087K

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

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

Star System Properties

Bellatrix 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 Bellatrix double sysyem:

1.64
12.14
10.5
179 arcsec

Distance, Radial Speed, Proper Motion

Bellatrix is distant 242.92 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 18 kilometers per second.

74.52
242.92
18 km/s
-0.009 arcsec/y
-0.014"/y

Alternative Designations

Bellatrix
γ Orionis
(gamma Orionis)
SAO112740
SAO112740

Visibility from Your Location

Today's Bellatrix - γ Orionis (gamma Orionis) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, UK are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 83.6°
Max altitude: 44.9°
Azimuth: 276.4°