Star profile
Gamma Circinus
Variable starWhat is Gamma Circinus
Gamma Circini is a visual binary and variable star, in one of the smallest and most retiring constellations of the southern sky, Lacaille's Compass. The primary is a hot blue-white subgiant; a yellow companion orbits beside it, splittable through a good telescope. An unequal pair of suns at 449 light-years, quietly close to the foot of Centaurus.
Where it is and when to see it
Gamma Circinus 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 never rises above the horizon.
- From Sydney it never sets and culminates about 65° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 31° N.
It ranks no. 3 in brightness among the 21 stars of Circinus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Circinus, the brightest: it lies about 7° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 450 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Gamma Circinus
- Constellation
- Circinus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.48
- Distance
- 448.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 230.844° · Dec -59.321°
- Catalogue
- HIP 75323 · HD 136415
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Other stars in Circinus
Circinus has 21 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Circinus3.18
- Beta Circinus4.07
- Epsilon Circinus4.85
- Delta Circinus5.04
- Theta Circinus5.08
- Eta Circinus5.16
- HIP 730365.18
- HIP 721315.36