Saiph, a blue bright giant star in Orion
Saiph is a blue bright giant star in the constellation Orion. At 645 light years away, it is the 57th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 2.07.
Saiph (HIP 27366)
Saiph is a blue bright giant star in the constellation Orion. At 645 light years away, it is the 57th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 2.07. It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 21 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 24,600 and 26,600 light years from the center of the Galaxy. It came closest to the Sun 9.2 million years ago when it had brightened to magnitude -3.24 from a distance of 56 light years.
Sky position: RA 5h 47.8m, Dec -9° 40.2'
Common designations: Saiph, Kappa Orionis, 53 Orionis, HIP 27366, HD 38771
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Brightest stars in Orion:
(list all)
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 1 | 0.18 | Rigel |
| 2 | 0.45 | Betelgeuse |
| 3 | 1.64 | Bellatrix |
| 4 | 1.69 | Alnilam |
| 5 | 1.74 | Alnitak |
6
| 2.07
) Saiph
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 7 | 2.25 | Mintaka |
| 8 | 2.75 | Hatsya |
| 9 | 3.19 | Tabit |
| 10 | 3.35 | Eta Orionis |
| 11 | 3.39 | Heka |
| 12 | 3.59 | Tau Orionis |
| 13 | 3.68 | Pi-4 Orionis |
| 14 | 3.71 | Pi-5 Orionis |
| 15 | 3.77 | Sigma Orionis |
| 16 | 4.06 | Omicron-2 Orionis |
| 17 | 4.09 | Phi-2 Orionis |
Hover over other bright stars to identify or click to jump.
Galactic Orbit of Saiph
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 3.9% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : 8.9°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 7,856 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 7,850 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 304 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 7,844 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 7,552 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 8,160 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Saiph
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 86.93911657° ±0.18 mas | 1.46 ±0.17 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | -9.66960181° ±0.13 mas | -1.28 ±0.13 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 214.51433083° | 1.78 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | -18.49647046° | 0.77 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 5.04 ± 0.22 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: B0II 2009A&A...501..297Z.
Radial Velocity: 20.90 ±2.30 km/s [A rating] 2006AstL...32..759G.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
n/a
Photometry
band
magnitude
Abs. Mag.
U
0.85
-5.63
B
1.90
-4.58
V
2.07
-4.41
R
I
2.18
-4.31
J
2.47
-4.01
H
2.69
-3.80
K
2.68
-3.80
B-V: -0.17 V-I: -0.11
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 197.96 pc (4.4% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,556 pc
Transverse velocity: 1.8 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | -154.7 pc | -106.4 pc | -62.8 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -15.6 km/s | -12.7 km/s | -5.9 km/s |