Star profile
Mu Musca
Variable starWhat is Mu Musca
Mu Muscae is a red K4 giant that flickers with the subtlety of irregular variables: its brightness drifts barely between magnitudes 4.71 and 4.76, with no clear period. It is more likely on the red giant branch than the asymptotic one, and shows no signs yet of mass loss. At 432 light-years, it shines quietly over the small southern constellation of the Fly.
Where it is and when to see it
Mu Musca lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is May, 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 57° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 23° N.
It ranks no. 7 in brightness among the 31 stars of Musca in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Musca, the brightest: it lies about 5° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 430 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Mu Musca
- Constellation
- Musca
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.75
- Distance
- 429.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 177.060° · Dec -66.815°
- Catalogue
- HIP 57581 · HD 102584
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Other stars in Musca
Musca has 31 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Musca2.69
- Beta Musca3.04
- Delta Musca3.61
- Lambda Musca3.63
- Gamma Musca3.84
- Epsilon Musca4.06
- Eta Musca4.79
- HIP 648204.86