Star profile
2 Centauri
Variable starWhat is 2 Centauri
Cradled 183 light-years away, 2 Centauri pulses in silence. It is an M-type red giant whose brightness drifts in slow waves as its cool outer layers —barely hotter than a bulb filament— swell and contract to the rhythm of an ageing sun. Seen from Earth, it rests at the northern edge of Centaurus, near the border with Hydra, faint enough to belong to moonless nights.
Where it is and when to see it
2 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, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 4° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 15° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 89° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 56° N.
It ranks no. 26 in brightness among the 174 stars of Centaurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rigil Kentaurus, the brightest: it lies about 28° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 180 years ago.
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Astronomical data for 2 Centauri
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.19
- Distance
- 183.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 207.361° · Dec -34.451°
- Catalogue
- HIP 67457 · HD 120323
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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
- Psi Centauri4.05
- HIP 720104.06
- HIP 574394.11
- 1 Centauri4.23
- HIP 628964.25