Bellatrix
Where is Bellatrix?
Look south, about 45° up at 05:17 in Orion. It rises at 22:52 and climbs through the night.
- Rises
- 22:52
- Highest
- 05:27
- Sets
- 12:06
- Best after dark
- 05:17 · 45°
Can I see Bellatrix tonight?
From London tonight, Bellatrix is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest just before dawn, around 05:17, in the south at 45°.
At magnitude 1.6 it is one of the brighter points in the sky, easy to see by eye when it’s clear.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does Bellatrix look like?
Bellatrix looks blue-white to the eye. Its spectral type is B2V: hot blue-white main-sequence star (much hotter than the Sun).
Eyes
A blue-white star at Orion’s upper right (for northern observers).
Binoculars
A bright blue-white point. Sweep down to the Belt and the Orion Nebula.
Telescope
A single point of light.
About Bellatrix
Bellatrix marks Orion’s western shoulder, opposite Betelgeuse. Its name is Latin for “female warrior”.
It is a hot blue-white giant about 250 light-years away, much closer than most of Orion’s other bright stars.
Bellatrix is about eight times the mass of the Sun and thousands of times as luminous, with a surface temperature of more than 20,000 °C. It is sometimes called the Amazon Star.
For a time it was used as a standard star of constant brightness, until careful measurements showed it varies slightly.
With Betelgeuse, Rigel and Saiph, Bellatrix marks one of the four corners of Orion’s main figure, framing the Belt and Sword.
Its light takes about 250 years to reach us. Bellatrix is one of the 30 or so brightest stars in the sky, easy to see even from cities.
Because Orion straddles the celestial equator, Bellatrix is visible from nearly every inhabited place on Earth.
Bellatrix in Orion
Questions
Is Bellatrix part of the same group as Orion’s Belt stars?
Sources: SkyMate; Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences