Star profile
Mu 1 Crucis
Hot blue starWhat is Mu 1 Crucis
Mu-1 Crucis forms, with its companion Mu-2, one of the most elegant double stars in the Southern Cross. Separated by 35 arc-seconds — easily split by good binoculars — the two blue B-type suns share origin, colour and a parallel journey some 415 light-years from Earth. To see the pair is to witness a sibling geometry at the heart of the most southerly constellation on the classical map.
Where it is and when to see it
Mu 1 Crucis 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 67° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 33° N.
It ranks no. 6 in brightness among the 32 stars of Crux in our catalogue. To find it, start from Acrux, the brightest: it lies about 7° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 410 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 Mu 1 Crucis
- Constellation
- Crux
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.03
- Distance
- 414.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 193.649° · Dec -57.178°
- Catalogue
- HIP 63003 · HD 112092
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Other stars in Crux
Crux has 32 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AcruxAlpha 1 Crucis0.77
- MimosaBeta Crucis1.25
- GacruxGamma Crucis1.59
- ImaiDelta Crucis2.79
- GinanEpsilon Crucis3.59
- Zeta Crucis4.06
- Eta Crucis4.14
- Theta 1 Crucis4.32