Star profile
Lambda Centauri
Hot blue starWhat is Lambda Centauri
Lambda Centauri is a B9 blue giant adrift among the young suns of the Scorpius-Centaurus association, the nearest gathering of hot stars to the Sun. Its bluish-white light spills across the nebula IC 2944, nicknamed the «Running Chicken» for the silhouette its star clumps trace. Lambda does not live inside it: she only crosses in front, like a raised lantern held before a much more distant bonfire.
Where it is and when to see it
Lambda 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 never sets and culminates about 61° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 27° N.
It ranks no. 11 in brightness among the 174 stars of Centaurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rigil Kentaurus, the brightest: it lies about 21° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 420 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 Centauri
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.11
- Distance
- 419.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 173.945° · Dec -63.020°
- Catalogue
- HIP 56561 · HD 100841
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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
- Zeta Centauri2.55
- Delta Centauri2.58
- Iota Centauri2.75
- Kappa Centauri3.13
- Nu Centauri3.41