5 Orionis

A red-orange star lying towards the southern end of the arc of stars known as Orion's Shield. 5 Orionis appears to fall very close in the sky to Pi⁵ Orionis, a blue star that outshines it significantly, appearing more than four times brighter as seen from Earth. Despite being by far the fainter of the two stars, 5 Orionis is actually the nearer of the two to the Solar System at a distance of some 485 light years (Pi⁵ Orionis is more than twice as far away, but much more luminous).

Though outshone by Pi⁵ Orionis, 5 Orionis is a massive and luminous red giant star in its own right. It has a diameter nearly seventy times greater than the Sun, and emits more than two hundred times as much visible light. 5 Orionis is an eruptive variable, whose brightness shows slight shifts over time as bursts of material are thrown out by the star.