Star profile
Pi Centauri
Hot blue starWhat is Pi Centauri
Pi Centauri is a blue binary in the Centaur, ruled by a B5 main-sequence star spinning at 340 km per second —so fast its equator bulges 22% over its poles. At 360 light-years, it radiates 783 suns from a surface near 17,000 K. The «n» tag in its classification says it all: spectral lines so smeared by rotation that they look diffuse, almost nebulous.
Where it is and when to see it
Pi Centauri lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is April, 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 culminates about 69° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 36° N.
It ranks no. 18 in brightness among the 174 stars of Centaurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rigil Kentaurus, the brightest: it lies about 27° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 360 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 Pi Centauri
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.90
- Distance
- 357.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 170.252° · Dec -54.491°
- Catalogue
- HIP 55425 · HD 98718
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Other stars in Centaurus
Centaurus has 174 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Rigil KentaurusAlpha 1 Centauri-0.01
- HadarBeta Centauri0.61
- TolimanAlpha 2 Centauri1.35
- Phi Centauri3.83
- Tau Centauri3.85
- Upsilon 1 Centauri3.87
- HIP 659363.90
- Sigma Centauri3.91