Star profile

Alpha Tucanae

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

What is Alpha Tucanae

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.

Where it is and when to see it

Alpha Tucanae 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.

Find it on the sky map

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The signature wall

Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works

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Write my signature

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 Tucanae

Constellation: Tucana
Apparent magnitude: 2.87
Distance: 199.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 334.626° · Dec -60.260°
Catalogue: HIP 110130 · HD 211416

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

Other stars in Tucana

Tucana has 28 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 28 stars in Tucana