It is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.91.

[2] Based upon a measured annual parallax shift of 0.44 mas,[1] it is approximately 7,500 light-years (2,300 parsecs) distant from the Earth.

[3] It is a slow irregular variable of the LC type, with its brightness varying in magnitude by 0.44.

[9] It is one of the largest stars known, even larger and more luminous than well-known red supergiants Betelgeuse and Antares.

This energy is being radiated into outer space from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of 3,790 K,[9] giving it the orange-red hue of a cool M-type star.