Star profile
Gamma Centauri
What is Gamma Centauri
The fourth-brightest light in Centaurus after Alpha, Beta and Theta, Gamma Centauri looks like a single white dot to the unaided eye, yet it is in truth a pair of near-twin subgiants orbiting each other every 83 years. Its classical name Muhlifain, from Arabic for «those who have sworn an oath», unknowingly describes the tight waltz of two blue suns 130 light-years away.
Where it is and when to see it
Gamma 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.
The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
If you don't have an account yet, we'll ask for an email to confirm it's you: we send you a link and that's it, no password.
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 Gamma Centauri
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.20
- Distance
- 130.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 190.380° · Dec -48.960°
- Catalogue
- HIP 61932 · HD 110304
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
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
- MenkentTheta Centauri2.06
- Epsilon Centauri2.29
- Eta Centauri2.33
- Zeta Centauri2.55
- Delta Centauri2.58