Star profile
Cor Caroli
Alpha 2 Canum Venaticorum · Canes Venatici
Variable starWhat is Cor Caroli
Cor Caroli, «Charles's Heart», was named in the seventeenth century in honour of King Charles I of England, the tradition holding that it shone unusually brightly the night his son made his triumphant return to London. It is a white A-type star 115 light-years away, prototype of a class of magnetic variables: its field is thousands of times stronger than the Sun's and drags exotic chemical elements to its surface. It glows alone in Canes Venatici, beneath the tail of the Great Bear.
Where it is and when to see it
Cor Caroli lies in the northern 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 77° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 88° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 18° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 52° S.
It is the brightest of the 33 stars of Canes Venatici 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 110 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Cor Caroli
- Constellation
- Canes Venatici
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.89
- Distance
- 114.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 194.007° · Dec 38.318°
- Catalogue
- HIP 63125 · HD 112413
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Other stars in Canes Venatici
Canes Venatici has 33 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- CharaBeta Canum Venaticorum4.24
- 24 Canum Venaticorum4.68
- 20 Canum Venaticorum4.72
- 5 Canum Venaticorum4.76
- HIP 676654.76
- 25 Canum Venaticorum4.82
- HIP 662574.91
- HIP 645404.94