Star profile
Zubenelgenubi
Alpha 2 Librae · Libra
What is Zubenelgenubi
Zubenelgenubi — the «southern claw» — keeps the name it bore when Libra was not yet a scale but part of the Scorpion. It is a white star a mere 76 light-years away, among the closest of the bright zodiacal stars. When Greek astronomers rebranded the constellation as the Balance, the old claw remained suspended in the sky under its original Arabic name, a quiet witness to how constellations shift identity over time.
Where it is and when to see it
Zubenelgenubi 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Zubenelgenubi
- Constellation
- Libra
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.75
- Distance
- 75.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 222.720° · Dec -16.042°
- Catalogue
- HIP 72622 · HD 130841
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Libra
Libra has 49 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- ZubeneschamaliBeta Librae2.61
- BrachiumSigma Librae3.25
- Upsilon Librae3.60
- Tau Librae3.66
- ZubenelhakrabiGamma Librae3.91
- Theta Librae4.13
- 16 Librae4.47
- Iota 1 Librae4.54