Star profile
Kappa 1 Apus
Variable starWhat is Kappa 1 Apus
Kappa-1 Apodis is a spectroscopic binary system some 1,060 light-years away, made of a Be star and a rare subdwarf O companion circling each other every 192 days. The Be spins at dizzying speed and is wrapped in an unstable circumstellar disk that turns it into a Gamma Cassiopeiae-type variable, oscillating between magnitudes 5.43 and 5.61. An exotic pairing —hot ember and subdwarf— in the circumpolar Bird of Paradise.
Where it is and when to see it
Kappa 1 Apus lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is June, 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 51° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 17° N.
It ranks no. 11 in brightness among the 21 stars of Apus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Apus, the brightest: it lies about 6° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 1,200 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Kappa 1 Apus
- Constellation
- Apus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.40
- Distance
- 1240.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 232.878° · Dec -73.390°
- Catalogue
- HIP 76013 · HD 137387
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Other stars in Apus
Apus has 21 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Apus3.83
- Gamma Apus3.86
- Beta Apus4.23
- Delta 2 Apus5.27
- HIP 732235.37
- Iota Apus5.39
- HIP 811415.50
- HIP 728335.59