Star profile
Alpha Indus
What is Alpha Indus
The alpha star of Indus is a mature orange giant, swollen to nearly ten times the Sun's radius and burning at around 4,900 kelvin. Only 99 light-years away, it is one of the closest of its kind and the brightest in a constellation devised in the sixteenth century to honour the peoples of the South Pacific. Two red dwarfs trail it at more than two thousand astronomical units, too faint to be seen from here.
Where it is and when to see it
Alpha Indus lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is July, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 2° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 77° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 43° N.
It is the brightest of the 19 stars of Indus in our catalogue, which makes it the best starting point for finding your way around the constellation.
The light you see today left it about 98 years ago.
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Leave your signature on Alpha Indus
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Alpha Indus
- Constellation
- Indus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.11
- Distance
- 98.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 309.392° · Dec -47.292°
- Catalogue
- HIP 101772 · HD 196171
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Indus
Indus has 19 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Beta Indus3.67
- Theta Indus4.39
- Delta Indus4.40
- Eta Indus4.51
- Epsilon Indus4.69
- Zeta Indus4.90
- Iota Indus5.06
- Mu Indus5.17