Star profile

Lambda Crateris

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

What is Lambda Crateris

Lambda Crateris shines with a yellow-white light in the Cup, that modest figure Greek myth tied to Apollo between the Crow and the Water Serpent. It is an F-type star 140 light-years away: a touch hotter and brighter than the Sun, in a stage between youth and maturity. It traces part of the fine outline of the cup, which, lacking truly bright stars, asks the observer for a dark sky and a little patience to make out its silhouette over the long back of the watery snake.

Where it is and when to see it

Lambda Crateris lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is March, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 20° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 31° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 75° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 71° N.

It ranks no. 8 in brightness among the 17 stars of Crater in our catalogue. To find it, start from Delta Crateris, the brightest: it lies about 4° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 140 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 Lambda Crateris

Constellation: Crater
Apparent magnitude: 5.08
Distance: 139.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 170.841° · Dec -18.780°
Catalogue: HIP 55598 · HD 98991

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

Other stars in Crater

Crater has 17 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 17 stars in Crater