Pi3 Orionis
star in the constellation Orion
Pi3 Orionis (π3 Orionis, abbreviated Pi3 Ori, π3 Ori), also named Tabit , is a star in the equatorial constellation of Orion. At an apparent visual magnitude of 3.16, it is readily visible to the naked eye and is the brightest and nearest star in the lion's hide (or shield) that Orion is holding. As measured using the parallax technique, it is 26.32 light-years (8.07 parsecs) distant from the Sun.
Nomenclature
π3 Orionis (Latinised to Pi3 Orionis) is the system's Bayer designation.
It bore the traditional name of 'Tabit', from the Arabic الثابت al-thābit 'the endurer (the fixed/constant one)'. In 2016, the IAU organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name Tabit for this star on 5 September 2017 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.
In Chinese, 參旗 (Sān Qí), meaning Banner of Three Stars, refers to an asterism consisting of π3 Orionis, ο1 Orionis, ο2 Orionis, 6 Orionis, π1 Orionis, π2 Orionis, π4 Orionis, π5 Orionis and π6 Orionis. Consequently, the Chinese name for Pi3 Orionis itself is 參旗六 (Zhāng Qí Liù), "the Sixth Star of Banner of Three Stars".
According to Richard Hinckley Allen: Star Names – Their Lore and Meaning, this star, together with ο1 Orionis, ο2 Orionis, π1 Orionis, π2 Orionis, π4 Orionis, π5 Orionis, π6 Orionis and 6 Orionis (are all of the 4th to the 5th magnitudes and in a vertical line), indicate the lion's skinwere but Al Tizini said that they were the Persians' Al Tāj, "the Crown", or "Tiara", of their kings; and the Arabians' Al Kumm, "the Sleeve", of the garment in which they dressed the Giant, the skin being omitted.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Pi3 Orionis” is star in the constellation Orion. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Orionis, star and constellation, not as a finished interpretation.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q14216. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2016 and 2017.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pi3 Orionis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.