Wazn is Beta Columbae (β Col), HD 39425, HIP 27628 and HR 2040, permanent Star Almanack object 772. The International Astronomical Union approved the name *Wazn* for Beta Columbae on 20 July 2016. Its visual magnitude is about 3.1, making it the second-brightest star of Columba after Phact, Alpha Columbae. The name comes from Arabic *al-wazn*, “the weight.” These identifiers all describe the same star; the Beta letter is part of a historical naming system, not a physical ranking of stellar mass. Sources: [IAU star-name catalogue](https://iauarchive.eso.org/public/themes/naming_stars/); [Wazn's historical name](https://www.constellationsofwords.com/wazn/).
Wazn is not a hot blue star like Phact. Its spectrum is classified K1 III, with some catalogues appending **CN+1**. K indicates a cooler orange photosphere, and III marks a giant: a star that has expanded after its long main-sequence phase. The CN notation describes a feature of molecular absorption bands in the observed spectrum; it does not mean that a giant is made mostly of cyanogen. A commonly quoted effective temperature is about 4,500 kelvin. Spectral class, temperature and chemical-band strength are related but not interchangeable measurements. Sources: [SIMBAD identifier search for Beta Columbae](https://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet+Col); [compiled stellar measurements](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Columbae).
The star is comparatively close. A Hipparcos parallax of 37.41 ± 0.12 milliarcseconds gives about 26.7 parsecs, or 87 light-years, by straightforward inversion. Gaia-based estimates differ slightly depending on data release and inference method; the sensible statement for a visual guide is “roughly 87–90 light-years,” not a distance exact to the last decimal. The light in tonight's eyepiece left Wazn decades before many present-day observers were born. Sources: [Hipparcos astrometry summary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Columbae); [Gaia-linked measurements and provenance](https://asteriastar.com/stars/wazn).
Its motion is a better surprise. Catalogued proper motion is about 55 milliarcseconds per year in right ascension (including the cosine-of-declination convention) and 404 milliarcseconds per year in declination. Combined, these are about 0.41 arcseconds per year, or roughly 41 arcseconds in a century. That is far too slow to notice during an observing session but large enough for precise astrometry and long-baseline photographic comparisons. The radial velocity, about +89 kilometres per second, also indicates substantial motion away from the Sun along our line of sight. Proper motion and radial velocity measure different components of space motion; neither is the star's speed across the celestial sphere expressed in kilometres per second without its distance. Source: [astrometric and spectroscopic data compilation](https://asteriastar.com/stars/wazn).
Phact and Wazn have almost the same right ascension and stand only a few degrees apart in our sky, so older star lore often treated them as a pair. Richard Hinckley Allen's nineteenth-century compilation associates the two with Arabic group names including *Al Muhlifain*, though such historical names and translations should not be mistaken for present-day official designations. Wazn's nearby distance and evolved orange spectrum contrast with Phact's much hotter B-type spectrum. A constellation figure is a useful pattern on the sky, not proof of a gravitational family. Sources: [Allen's historical compilation](https://www.constellationsofwords.com/wazn/); [Phact and Columba](https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/columba-constellation/).
To locate Wazn, first find Orion and bright Sirius, then look south into Columba. Phact is the brighter, bluer of the conspicuous pair; Wazn is slightly fainter and lies a little farther east and south. Verify both against the accepted Dove figure and the object's finder rather than relying on perceived colour alone. The J2000 position of Wazn is approximately right ascension 5h 50m 58s and declination −35° 46′. At 45° N its ideal upper-culmination altitude is only about 9.2°, making haze, terrain and city light severe limitations. At 35° S it passes about 89.2° high, nearly overhead. These are original geometric calculations that ignore refraction and the observing date.
A small telescope resolves no stellar surface; binoculars mainly help with the surrounding pattern. The real experiment is to compare two stars of the Dove while remembering that their different temperatures, distances and motions make them separate worlds. The week's Moon, twilight, finder rendering and published links must be checked independently before this story can be marked complete.
