It is the brightest star in Pyxis, and is easily visible to the naked eye.

It has a stellar classification of B1.5III and is a Beta Cephei variable.

The surface temperature is 24,300 K and the star is about 10,000 times as luminous as the Sun.

[3][4][8] Stars such as this with more than 10 solar masses are expected to end their life by exploding as a supernova.

Consequently, α Pyxidis itself is known as 天狗五 (Tiān Gǒu wǔ, English: the Fifth Star of Celestial Dog).