It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.5.

[3] Based upon an annual parallax shift of only 2.99 mas as seen from Earth, it is located about 1,090 light years from the Sun.

[14] This is a B-type subgiant star with a stellar classification of B2 IV.

[4][3] It was determined to be a Beta Cephei variable based on observations during 1955 at the Cape Observatory.

The inner edge of the dust lies at a distance of 980 AU from the star with a temperature of 190 K, and it extends outward to as much as 50,000 AU where the temperature drops to 40 K. This optically thin dust is not related to the pulsational behavior of the star.