Star profile

Gudja

Kappa Serpens · Serpens

Cool red star

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

What is Gudja

Gudja is a cool red giant inside the constellation Serpens, 382 light-years away. Its reddish tone —proof that its atmosphere barely exceeds 3,500 degrees— is the colour in which stars that have run most of their lives slowly fade. The name comes from Australian Aboriginal traditions and preserves in the modern sky an oral memory that appears in no classical European almanac.

Where it is and when to see it

Gudja lies in the northern 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 culminates about 57° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 67° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 38° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 72° S.

It ranks no. 9 in brightness among the 65 stars of Serpens in our catalogue. To find it, start from Unukalhai, the brightest: it lies about 12° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 380 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Gudja

Constellation: Serpens
Apparent magnitude: 4.09
Distance: 382.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 237.185° · Dec 18.142°
Catalogue: HIP 77450 · HD 141477

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Serpens

Serpens has 65 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 65 stars in Serpens