Star profile

Eta Grus

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

What is Eta Grus

Eta Gruis is an orange K2 giant enriched in carbon and nitrogen, a clue to its advanced evolution. It has swelled to 33 solar radii and emits 355 times more energy than the Sun at around 4,500 kelvin. 415 light-years away, it drifts among the plumage of the Crane, a southern constellation devised by Dutch navigators in the sixteenth century from the birds they watched circling the Cape.

Where it is and when to see it

Eta 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 never rises above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 70° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 36° N.

It ranks no. 13 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 420 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Eta Grus

Constellation: Grus
Apparent magnitude: 4.84
Distance: 415.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 341.408° · Dec -53.500°
Catalogue: HIP 112374 · HD 215369

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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