Star profile
Gamma Apus
What is Gamma Apus
Gamma Apodis watches over one of the southernmost corners of the sky, in the Bird of Paradise constellation, invisible from Europe. It is an orange K-type giant about 156 light-years away, cool and swollen, the evolutionary descendant of a star somewhat more massive than the Sun. It belongs to a group of stars first charted by European navigators of the sixteenth century as they crossed the celestial equator.
Where it is and when to see it
Gamma 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 45° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 11° N.
It ranks no. 2 in brightness among the 21 stars of Apus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Apus, the brightest: it lies about 5° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 160 years ago.
It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.
Leave your signature on Gamma Apus
Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works
We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.
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 Gamma Apus
- Constellation
- Apus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.86
- Distance
- 156.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 248.364° · Dec -78.897°
- Catalogue
- HIP 81065 · HD 147675
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Apus
Apus has 21 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Apus3.83
- Beta Apus4.23
- Delta 1 Apus4.68
- Zeta Apus4.76
- Eta Apus4.89
- Epsilon Apus5.06
- Delta 2 Apus5.27
- HIP 732235.37