Star profile

Beta Fornax

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

What is Beta Fornax

Beta Fornacis lights the small constellation of the Furnace, invented by Lacaille in the eighteenth century during his great mapping of the southern sky from the Cape of Good Hope. It is a yellow G-type giant some 173 light-years away, an aged successor to the solar model that has long left behind the quiet burning of hydrogen. In a sky region nearly empty of bright stars, its golden tone serves as a humble pilot light.

Where it is and when to see it

Beta Fornax lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is October, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 6° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 17° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 89° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 58° N.

It ranks no. 2 in brightness among the 26 stars of Fornax in our catalogue. To find it, start from Dalim, the brightest: it lies about 6° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 170 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.

Leave your signature on Beta Fornax

Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works

We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.

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 Beta Fornax

Constellation: Fornax
Apparent magnitude: 4.45
Distance: 172.7 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 42.273° · Dec -32.406°
Catalogue: HIP 13147 · HD 17652

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

Other stars in Fornax

Fornax has 26 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 26 stars in Fornax