HD 79940 is a single star in the southern constellation of Vela. It has the Bayer designation of k Velorum; HD 79940 is the identifier from the Henry Draper Catalogue. This star has a yellow-white hue and is faintly visible to the naked eye as a point light source with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.63. It is located at a distance of approximately 158 light-years from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +6 km/s.