Star profile

HIP 65936

Highly luminous star

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is HIP 65936

Deep in the southern reaches of Centaurus burns a yellow beacon whose light took just over nine centuries to reach us. When that glow left the photosphere, Christian kingdoms were pushing the Reconquista forward and Andalusi astronomers were copying stellar tables in Toledo. It belongs to spectral class G like the Sun, yet its intrinsic brightness places it far above our daytime star —a mature giant that has swollen its outer layers after exhausting core hydrogen.

Where it is and when to see it

HIP 65936 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, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never rises above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 10° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 84° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 51° N.

It ranks no. 19 in brightness among the 174 stars of Centaurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rigil Kentaurus, the brightest: it lies about 24° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 910 years ago.

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Astronomical data for HIP 65936

Constellation: Centaurus
Apparent magnitude: 3.90
Distance: 906.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 202.761° · Dec -39.407°
Catalogue: HIP 65936 · HD 117440

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Other stars in Centaurus

Centaurus has 174 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 174 stars in Centaurus