Star profile

Eta 2 Dorado

Cool red star

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

What is Eta 2 Dorado

Eta-2 Doradus is a red giant at 641 light-years, lit in a southern constellation that most Europeans will never have the chance to see in their lifetime. Its reddish hue marks a cool surface and a vast atmosphere, swollen at the end of its nuclear life. It glows quietly near the Large Magellanic Cloud, in a region of sky that knows very little human history.

Where it is and when to see it

Eta 2 Dorado lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is February, 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 58° up.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 24° N.

It ranks no. 8 in brightness among the 18 stars of Dorado in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Dorado, the brightest: it lies about 16° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 640 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Eta 2 Dorado

Constellation: Dorado
Apparent magnitude: 5.01
Distance: 640.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 92.813° · Dec -65.589°
Catalogue: HIP 29353 · HD 43455

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Other stars in Dorado

Dorado has 18 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 18 stars in Dorado