Star profile

Zeta Crateris

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is Zeta Crateris

Zeta Crateris is a yellow giant of the red clump: a star that has finished burning hydrogen and now fuses helium quietly in its core. Swollen to thirteen times the Sun's diameter, it pours out 157 solar luminosities from 353 light-years away. It rests within the Cup, a small constellation the Greeks linked to Apollo's chalice, set halfway between sprawling Hydra and dark Corvus.

Where it is and when to see it

Zeta 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 74° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 72° N.

It ranks no. 6 in brightness among the 17 stars of Crater in our catalogue. To find it, start from Delta Crateris, the brightest: it lies about 7° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 350 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Zeta Crateris

Constellation: Crater
Apparent magnitude: 4.71
Distance: 353.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 176.191° · Dec -18.351°
Catalogue: HIP 57283 · HD 102070

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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