Saiph - κ Orionis (kappa Orionis)
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 skyes, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.
The table below summarizes the key facts about Saiph:
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:
The simplified sky map below shows the position of Saiph in the sky:
Visibility of Saiph from your location
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
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 [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
Digitized Sky Survey image of Saiph
The image below is a photograph of Saiph from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). 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.
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.
Spectral properties of Saiph
Saiph belongs to spectral class B0 and has a luminosity class of I corresponding to a hypergiant star.
The red dot in the diagram below shows where Saiph is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.
