Star profile

Adhafera

Zeta Leonis · Leo

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is Adhafera

Adhafera, in Leo's mane, takes its name from the Arabic «al-ḍafīrah», «the braid», for its place among the stars tracing the lion's curls. It is a yellow-white star 274 light-years away, a mature giant whose light crosses space for nearly three centuries before reaching us: it set out before the first reasonably accurate map of the Pacific had even been drawn.

Where it is and when to see it

Adhafera 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 62° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 73° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 33° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 67° S.

It ranks no. 7 in brightness among the 80 stars of Leo in our catalogue. To find it, start from Regulus, the brightest: it lies about 12° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 270 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Adhafera

Constellation: Leo
Apparent magnitude: 3.43
Distance: 274.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 154.173° · Dec 23.417°
Catalogue: HIP 50335 · HD 89025

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Other stars in Leo

Leo has 80 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 80 stars in Leo