Star profile

2 Monocerotis

3D likeness based on its real data · class A · ~8,500 K

What is 2 Monocerotis

2 Monocerotis sits in an often forgotten patch of sky: Monoceros, a modern constellation drawn in the seventeenth century among the dazzling figures of Orion, Gemini and Canis Major. It is a white A-class star about two hundred and eighty light-years away, set against a background thick with stellar clusters and faint nebulae. Its light set out when Europe was just publishing its first modern sky catalogues.

Where it is and when to see it

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

From London it culminates about 29° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 40° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 66° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 80° N.

It ranks no. 16 in brightness among the 71 stars of Monoceros in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Monocerotis, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 290 years ago.

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Astronomical data for 2 Monocerotis

Constellation: Monoceros
Apparent magnitude: 5.04
Distance: 286.4 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 89.768° · Dec -9.558°
Catalogue: HIP 28325 · HD 40536

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

Other stars in Monoceros

Monoceros has 71 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 71 stars in Monoceros