Star profile

Kappa Norma

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is Kappa Norma

Kappa Normae shines 428 light-years away in the Carpenter's Square, another of the instrumental figures Lacaille placed in the southern sky of the eighteenth century. It is a yellow G-type giant, Sun-like in colour but much larger and more luminous, already drifting beyond its stable youth. It dwells in a region of the sky crossed by the southern Milky Way, where the diffuse glow of millions of distant stars softens its silhouette.

Where it is and when to see it

Kappa Norma 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 culminates about 69° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 35° N.

It ranks no. 7 in brightness among the 26 stars of Norma in our catalogue. To find it, start from Gamma 2 Norma, the brightest: it lies about 5° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 430 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Kappa Norma

Constellation: Norma
Apparent magnitude: 4.95
Distance: 428.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 243.370° · Dec -54.630°
Catalogue: HIP 79509 · HD 145397

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Other stars in Norma

Norma has 26 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 26 stars in Norma