Star profile
Nu Centauri
Variable starWhat is Nu Centauri
Nu Centauri is a blue subgiant that pulses slowly, a confirmed member of the Upper Centaurus-Lupus subgroup, part of the closest young stellar association to the Solar System. At 437 light-years, she keeps company with a handful of hot sister stars all born from the same gas collapse only tens of millions of years ago. By cosmic measure she is young: she burns fast and will die soon.
Where it is and when to see it
Nu 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 May, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 8° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 82° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 48° N.
It ranks no. 13 in brightness among the 174 stars of Centaurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rigil Kentaurus, the brightest: it lies about 21° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 440 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Nu Centauri
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.41
- Distance
- 436.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 207.376° · Dec -41.688°
- Catalogue
- HIP 67464 · HD 120307
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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
- Iota Centauri2.75
- Lambda Centauri3.11
- Kappa Centauri3.13
- Mu Centauri3.47
- Phi Centauri3.83