Star profile

Acrux

Alpha 1 Crucis · Crux

Hot blue star

3D likeness based on its real data · class B · ~15,000 K

What is Acrux

Acrux is the topmost jewel of the Southern Cross, a blue system burning some 322 light-years away. Its spectral class B places it among the hottest stars visible to the naked eye, and for centuries its light guided southern navigators who read in Crux the sign of a new sky. The light arriving tonight set out when Galileo was still polishing his first telescope and turning it toward the firmament.

Where it is and when to see it

Acrux lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the brightest stars in the sky: visible even from a city. 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 61° up.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 27° N.

It is the brightest of the 32 stars of Crux in our catalogue, which makes it the best starting point for finding your way around the constellation.

The light you see today left it about 320 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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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 Acrux

Constellation: Crux
Apparent magnitude: 0.77
Distance: 322.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 186.650° · Dec -63.099°
Catalogue: HIP 60718 · HD 108248

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

Other stars in Crux

Crux has 32 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 32 stars in Crux