Star profile

Brachium

Sigma Librae · Libra

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class M · ~3,200 K

What is Brachium

Brachium, «the arm» in Latin, extends one of the pans of Libra. A red M-class giant 288 light years away, it is a late-stage star that has swollen its atmosphere after exhausting the hydrogen at its core. Slow pulsations make it a semiregular variable: a brightness that beats with the laziness of an ancient heart across almost three centuries of travel.

Where it is and when to see it

Brachium 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.

Find it on the sky map

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The signature wall

Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works

If you don't have an account yet, we'll ask for an email to confirm it's you: we send you a link and that's it, no password.

Write my signature

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 Brachium

Constellation: Libra
Apparent magnitude: 3.25
Distance: 288.4 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 226.018° · Dec -25.282°
Catalogue: HIP 73714 · HD 133216

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.

See all 49 stars in Libra