Star profile

Xi Grus

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Xi Grus

Xi Gruis is an orange K-type giant at four hundred and sixty-six light-years in the Crane, that southern bird stretching its neck toward the horizon. The constellation, drawn by Dutch navigators, occupies a celestial region far from Greco-Latin legends. The warm, mature light of Xi Gruis travels across a sky that only the southern hemisphere offers in full.

Where it is and when to see it

Xi Grus lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is August, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never rises above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 8° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 83° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 49° N.

It ranks no. 15 in brightness among the 39 stars of Grus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alnair, the brightest: it lies about 9° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 470 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Xi Grus

Constellation: Grus
Apparent magnitude: 5.29
Distance: 466.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 323.024° · Dec -41.179°
Catalogue: HIP 106327 · HD 204783

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Other stars in Grus

Grus has 39 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 39 stars in Grus