Star profile
Theta Chamaeleon
What is Theta Chamaeleon
Theta Chamaeleontis is an orange K2 giant 155 light-years away, in a constellation so far south that only southern latitudes can see it. She is a visual double: a much fainter giant companion sits beside her, separable only with large telescopes. The celestial Chameleon changes colour little, and Theta is its steadiest warm tone, a quiet ember pinned near the southern pole of the sky.
Where it is and when to see it
Theta Chamaeleon lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is May, 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 46° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 13° N.
It ranks no. 4 in brightness among the 19 stars of Chamaeleon in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Chamaeleon, the brightest: it lies about 1° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 160 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Theta Chamaeleon
- Constellation
- Chamaeleon
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.34
- Distance
- 155.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 125.162° · Dec -77.484°
- Catalogue
- HIP 40888 · HD 71701
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Other stars in Chamaeleon
Chamaeleon has 19 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Chamaeleon4.05
- Gamma Chamaeleon4.11
- Beta Chamaeleon4.24
- Delta 2 Chamaeleon4.45
- Epsilon Chamaeleon4.88
- Kappa Chamaeleon5.04
- Zeta Chamaeleon5.07
- Iota Chamaeleon5.34