51 Orionis, an orange giant star in Orion
51 Orionis is an orange giant star in the constellation Orion. At 293 light years away, it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 4.9.
51 Orionis (HIP 26885)
51 Orionis is an orange giant star in the constellation Orion. At 293 light years away, it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 4.90. The iron abundance of 51 Orionis is -0.47 (33.9% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 90.5 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 17,800 and 31,800 light years from the center of the Galaxy. It came closest to the Sun 936,000 years ago when it had brightened to magnitude 2.02 from a distance of 78 light years.
Sky position: RA 5h 42.5m, Dec +1° 28.2'
Common designations: b Orionis, 51 Orionis, HIP 26885, HD 37984
Brightest stars in Orion:
(list all)
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 35 | 4.65 | 11 Orionis |
| 36 | 4.71 | Omicron-1 Orionis |
| 37 | 4.71 | 31 Orionis |
| 38 | 4.72 | 22 Orionis |
| 39 | 4.76 | 56 Orionis |
| 40 | 4.77 | 49 Orionis |
| 41 | 4.78 | HR 1887 |
| 42 | 4.81 | 15 Orionis |
| 43 | 4.89 | 25 Orionis |
44
| 4.90
) 51 Orionis
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 45 | 4.91 | Lalande 12104 |
| 46 | 4.95 | HR 1952 |
| 47 | 4.95 | 69 Orionis |
| 48 | 4.98 | Theta-1 Orionis |
| 49 | 4.98 | Theta-2 Orionis |
| 50 | 4.99 | 23 Orionis |
| 51 | 5.04 | 74 Orionis |
Hover over other bright stars to identify or click to jump.
Galactic Orbit of 51 Orionis
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 28.3% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : -103.2°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 7,606 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 7,296 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 2,151 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 6,998 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 5,455 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 9,758 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for 51 Orionis
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 85.61943461° ±0.32 mas | -54.49 ±0.36 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | 1.47466482° ±0.24 mas | -14.65 ±0.26 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 203.53526068° | -13.18 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | -14.59285796° | -54.86 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 11.11 ± 0.37 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: K1 III 1999MSS...C05....0H.
Radial Velocity: 87.26 ±0.24 km/s [A rating] 2005A&A...430..165F.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
-0.47 ±0.03 dex
2011A&A...525A..71W, 2008A&A...480...91S, 1990ApJS...74.1075M.
Photometry
| band | magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
| U | ||
| B | 6.04 | 1.28 |
| V | 4.90 | 0.13 |
| R | ||
| I | 3.86 | -0.91 |
| J | 2.92 | -1.85 |
| H | 2.37 | -2.40 |
| K | 2.21 | -2.56 |
B-V: +1.14 V-I: +1.04
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 89.89 pc (3.3% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,480 pc
Transverse velocity: 24.0 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | -79.8 pc | -34.7 pc | -22.6 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -74.3 km/s | -26.2 km/s | -44.6 km/s |