In apparent brightness it ranks, within Orion, admitting the higher published mean brightness of much more variable stars ranked above it, 35th.[citation needed]
Chi1 Orionis is an unrelated, yellow, main sequence star over two degrees away and far closer to the Sun.
Spectrum
χ2 Orionis has a B2 bright supergiant spectrum and is one of the standard B2 Ia stars.[7] It has been reported as having unusually narrow absorption lines and some weak emission lines and was included as one of the original Be stars.[8] It is no longer treated as a Be star since many supergiants show some emission features at high resolution and Be stars is usually defined to exclude supergiants.[9]
Variability
χ2 Orionis was listed as having likely small amplitude variability in photometry for the Third Catalogue of Stars measured in the Geneva Observatory Photometric System, specifically varying by 22 thousandths of a magnitude.[11] It was included in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars based on Hipparcos satellite photometry with a magnitude range (in the Hipparchos photometric system) of 4.68 - 4.72 and a period of 2.8 days.[12] A detailed study of the Hipparcos photometry confirmed the star as an α Cyg variable and gave the amplitude of variation as 0.057 magnitudes.[13]
^ abcdHR 2135, database entry, The Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed. (Preliminary Version), D. Hoffleit and W. H. Warren, Jr., CDS ID V/50. Accessed on line January 14, 2011.
^Andrillat, Y.; Jaschek, M.; Jaschek, C. (1994). "A study of Be stars in the wavelength region around Paschen 7". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series. 103: 135. Bibcode:1994A&AS..103..135A.
^"Light Curve". Hipparcos ESA. ESA. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
^Rufener, F.; Bartholdi, P. (1982). "List of 333 variable, microvariable or suspected variable stars detected in the Geneva photometry". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series. 48: 503. Bibcode:1982A&AS...48..503R.
^Kazarovets, E. V.; Samus, N. N.; Durlevich, O. V.; Frolov, M. S.; Antipin, S. V.; Kireeva, N. N.; Pastukhova, E. N. (1999). "The 74th Special Name-list of Variable Stars". Information Bulletin on Variable Stars. 4659: 1. Bibcode:1999IBVS.4659....1K.