Star profile
Alpha Reticulum
What is Alpha Reticulum
Alpha Reticuli is the brightest star in a discreet southern constellation, named in the late 18th century in honour of the telescope's reticle. Some 162 light-years away, this G-type giant pours out a yellow light reminiscent of an aged Sun, expanded and slowly cooling after leaving its main-sequence youth behind.
Where it is and when to see it
Alpha Reticulum 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 never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it never rises above the horizon.
- From Sydney it never sets and culminates about 61° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 28° N.
It is the brightest of the 16 stars of Reticulum in our catalogue, which makes it the best starting point for finding your way around the constellation.
The light you see today left it about 160 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Alpha Reticulum
- Constellation
- Reticulum
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.33
- Distance
- 161.6 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 63.606° · Dec -62.474°
- Catalogue
- HIP 19780 · HD 27256
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Other stars in Reticulum
Reticulum has 16 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Beta Reticulum3.84
- Epsilon Reticulum4.44
- Gamma Reticulum4.48
- Delta Reticulum4.56
- Kappa Reticulum4.71
- Iota Reticulum4.97
- Zeta 2 Reticulum5.24
- Eta Reticulum5.24