Star profile

Aldhanab

Gamma Grus · Grus

Hot blue star

3D likeness based on its real data · class B · ~15,000 K

What is Aldhanab

Aldhanab shines with cool blue light from 211 light-years away in Grus, the crane, one of the figures introduced into the southern sky during the Renaissance. A class-B star, young and hot, its colour betrays surface temperatures far above the Sun's. Its Arabic name, «al-dhanab», the tail, did not originally belong to the crane but to earlier silhouettes, proof of how celestial drawings shift across centuries and peoples.

Where it is and when to see it

Aldhanab 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 culminates about 1° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 12° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 87° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 53° N.

It ranks no. 3 in brightness among the 39 stars of Grus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alnair, the brightest: it lies about 10° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 210 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Aldhanab

Constellation: Grus
Apparent magnitude: 3.00
Distance: 211.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 328.482° · Dec -37.365°
Catalogue: HIP 108085 · HD 207971

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Grus

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

See all 39 stars in Grus