Star profile

Zeta Grus

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is Zeta Grus

Zeta Gruis is one of the twelve stars that draw the silhouette of the Crane in the southern sky, a yellow G-type giant 109 light-years away —a modest distance for so deep a constellation. Its warm hue recalls an older, swollen Sun: what ours will become several billion years from now, almost visible in time's mirror.

Where it is and when to see it

Zeta 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 71° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 37° N.

It ranks no. 7 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 110 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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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 Zeta Grus

Constellation: Grus
Apparent magnitude: 4.11
Distance: 108.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 345.220° · Dec -52.754°
Catalogue: HIP 113638 · HD 217364

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