Star profile

Kappa Crateris

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

What is Kappa Crateris

κ Crateris lights up the Cup, the quiet southern spring constellation that mythology linked to Apollo's chalice. It is a visual double about 229 light-years away, dominated by an F5/6 III yellow-white giant. It only emerges under truly dark skies, far from light pollution; in favourable conditions powerful instruments separate it as a faint vertex of the celestial bowl.

Where it is and when to see it

Kappa 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 26° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 37° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 68° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 78° N.

It ranks no. 16 in brightness among the 17 stars of Crater in our catalogue. To find it, start from Delta Crateris, the brightest: it lies about 3° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 230 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Kappa Crateris

Constellation: Crater
Apparent magnitude: 5.93
Distance: 228.6 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 171.790° · Dec -12.357°
Catalogue: HIP 55874 · HD 99564

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Other stars in Crater

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

See all 17 stars in Crater