Star profile

Elkurud

Theta Columbae · Columba

Hot blue star

3D likeness based on its real data · class B · ~15,000 K

What is Elkurud

Elkurud lives in Columba, 'the dove', the constellation invented in the sixteenth century to represent the bird Noah released from the ark. It is a hot blue star, distant: 722 light-years away. The light crossing the southern sky tonight set out around 1304, in the heart of the Middle Ages, when Marco Polo was dictating in Genoa the account of his travels to China.

Where it is and when to see it

Elkurud 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 1° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 12° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 87° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 53° N.

It ranks no. 11 in brightness among the 45 stars of Columba in our catalogue. To find it, start from Phact, the brightest: it lies about 6° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 720 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Elkurud

Constellation: Columba
Apparent magnitude: 5.00
Distance: 721.7 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 91.882° · Dec -37.253°
Catalogue: HIP 29034 · HD 42167

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Other stars in Columba

Columba has 45 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 45 stars in Columba