Star profile

Acubens

Alpha Cancri · Cancer

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

What is Acubens

Acubens is a white star in the Crab's claw, its name drawn from the Arabic «al-zubānā», «the claws». Cancer is one of the most modest constellations of the zodiac, without bright stars, and Acubens marks precisely one of its almost invisible appendages. At 188 light-years, its limpid light takes just long enough to have set out in the heart of the European Enlightenment.

Where it is and when to see it

Acubens lies in the northern 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 culminates about 50° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 61° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 44° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 78° S.

It ranks no. 4 in brightness among the 49 stars of Cancer in our catalogue. To find it, start from Tarf, the brightest: it lies about 11° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 190 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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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 Acubens

Constellation: Cancer
Apparent magnitude: 4.26
Distance: 188.3 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 134.622° · Dec 11.858°
Catalogue: HIP 44066 · HD 76756

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