Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. HD 56096 is a giant star that is also known as L² Puppis because it is located in the constellation of Puppis. It is a semi-regular pulsating star that varies in magnitude from 2.60 down to 6.00 with a period of 140.83 days. The variation in light may be caused by a combination of radial pulsations in the star's atmosphere and by dimming from circumstellar dust. This is most likely an asymptotic giant branch star that has passed through the main sequence and is evolving to become a white dwarf. It is shedding mass at the rate of about 2.2 × 10 9 solar masses per year.