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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: 5:39  
clear_day Transit: 12:56  
SunsetSet: 20:14
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Orion » 

Saiph - κ Orionis (kappa Orionis)

Altitude: -12.5°   Azimuth: 89.9°   Direction: East

Saiph, also designated as κ Orionis (kappa Orionis), is a variable hypergiant star in the constellation of Orion.

Saiph visual magnitude is 2.06, making it the 57th brightest star in the sky. Thanks to its high brightness, Saiph is clearly visible when observed from locations with dark skies, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

The proper motion of Saiph is 0.002 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.002 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Saiph - κ Orionis (kappa Orionis) star
DSS2 image of Saiph. The red arrow shows the motion of Saiph during the next 100000 years (3.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and -3.33 arcmin in declination);

Key facts about Saiph

2.06
Hypergiant

Saiph - κ Orionis (kappa Orionis) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -12.5°
Azimuth: 89.9°
Direction: East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Saiph

Saiph 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 Saiph are provided in the following table:

05h 47m 45s
-09° 40’ 10”
214.51°
-18.5°
Orion

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Saiph in the sky:

Finder chart Saiph - κ Orionis (kappa Orionis) star
Simplified finder chart for Saiph - κ Orionis (kappa Orionis).

Visibility of Saiph 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 Saiph - κ Orionis (kappa 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: 99.7°
Max altitude: 28.9°
Azimuth: 260.3°

Distance of Saiph from the Sun and relative movement

Saiph is distant 721.24 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 21 kilometers per second.

221.24 pc
721.24 ly
21 km/s
0.002 arcsec/year
-0.002 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Saiph

Saiph belongs to spectral class B0 and has a luminosity class of I corresponding to a hypergiant star.

-4.66
B0I
12902K

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

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

Alternative designations of Saiph

Saiph
κ Orionis
(kappa Orionis)
SAO132542
SAO132542