Star profile

Kappa Grus

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

What is Kappa Grus

Kappa Gruis accompanies the long, slender neck of the Crane, one of the birds drawn into the southern sky by the Dutch explorers of the late sixteenth century. At 364 light-years, it is an orange K-type giant whose warm light blends with the set of stars sketching the bird's elegant body. The constellation, with its unmistakable silhouette, recalls the oceanic voyages when the southern sky was still a cartographic territory to invent.

Where it is and when to see it

Kappa 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. 17 in brightness among the 39 stars of Grus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alnair, the brightest: it lies about 11° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 360 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Kappa Grus

Constellation: Grus
Apparent magnitude: 5.37
Distance: 364.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 346.165° · Dec -53.965°
Catalogue: HIP 113957 · HD 217902

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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