Star profile
Beta Phoenicis
Highly luminous starWhat is Beta Phoenicis
Beta Phoenicis is a graceful visual binary: two yellow G8III giants so alike they seem to mirror each other, separated by barely an arcsecond and completing a mutual orbit every 170 years on a slightly eccentric path. Its light, travelling from the southern bird of rebirth, requires a substantial telescope to split, and then reveals the subtle contrast of two aged suns shining in unison.
Where it is and when to see it
Beta Phoenicis lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is September, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 3° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 77° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 43° N.
It ranks no. 2 in brightness among the 39 stars of Phoenix in our catalogue. To find it, start from Ankaa, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 330,000 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Beta Phoenicis
- Constellation
- Phoenix
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.32
- Distance
- 326200.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 16.521° · Dec -46.718°
- Catalogue
- HIP 5165 · HD 6595
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Other stars in Phoenix
Phoenix has 39 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AnkaaAlpha Phoenicis2.40
- Gamma Phoenicis3.41
- Epsilon Phoenicis3.88
- Kappa Phoenicis3.93
- Delta Phoenicis3.93
- WurrenZeta Phoenicis3.94
- Eta Phoenicis4.36
- Psi Phoenicis4.39