Star profile
Upsilon 2 Centauri
Highly luminous starWhat is Upsilon 2 Centauri
Upsilon-2 Centauri is a yellow F7 bright giant, nearly seven solar masses and around 3,900 times the Sun's luminosity. Its distance of about 1,270 light-years hides its true power behind a modest apparent glow. Place it where Sirius sits and it would rule the night sky. It belongs to a young generation barely 46 million years old, raised in the rich nursery of Centaurus.
Where it is and when to see it
Upsilon 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 May, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 4° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 78° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 44° N.
It ranks no. 34 in brightness among the 174 stars of Centaurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rigil Kentaurus, the brightest: it lies about 16° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 1,300 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Upsilon 2 Centauri
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.34
- Distance
- 1269.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 210.431° · Dec -45.603°
- Catalogue
- HIP 68523 · HD 122223
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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
- HIP 700694.30
- 3 Centauri4.32
- HIP 628674.33
- Chi Centauri4.36
- HIP 703004.41