Star profile

Rho 2 Cancri

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is Rho 2 Cancri

Rho-2 Cancri shines quietly inside zodiacal Cancer, not far from the celebrated Beehive Cluster, that swarm of stars that looks like a small cloud to the naked eye. It is a yellow G-type star 487 light-years away, a warm light whose journey began during the conquest of the New World. Though it belongs to one of the faintest constellations of the zodiac, it occupies the band of sky the Sun crosses at the height of the northern summer, a region of the firmament charged with ancient astronomical symbolism.

Where it is and when to see it

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

From London it culminates about 66° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 77° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 28° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 62° S.

It ranks no. 12 in brightness among the 49 stars of Cancer in our catalogue. To find it, start from Tarf, the brightest: it lies about 21° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 490 years ago.

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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.

Astronomical data for Rho 2 Cancri

Constellation: Cancer
Apparent magnitude: 5.23
Distance: 486.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 133.915° · Dec 27.927°
Catalogue: HIP 43834 · HD 76219

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

Other stars in Cancer

Cancer has 49 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 49 stars in Cancer