Alp

Its story

Alpha Tucanae is the brightest light of a quiet southern constellation, a toucan sketched by Dutch navigators at the end of the sixteenth century. It is an orange K-type giant burning some 200 light-years away, partnered with a spectroscopic companion locked in a silent orbit no small telescope can split. Its warm glow makes it a soft beacon in the deep southern sky, far from the bustle of the older classical figures.