Star profile
Mu Norma
Variable starWhat is Mu Norma
μ Normae dwells within the Square, a southern constellation invented in the eighteenth century. It is a blue supergiant about 3,260 light-years away, with 30 times the Sun's mass and a luminosity estimated between a quarter million and a million Suns —among the brightest stars known. Its brightness drifts slowly between magnitude 4.87 and 4.98: an α Cygni variable, kin to Deneb in the way it breathes.
Where it is and when to see it
Mu 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 culminates about 5° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 80° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 46° N.
It ranks no. 6 in brightness among the 26 stars of Norma in our catalogue. To find it, start from Gamma 2 Norma, the brightest: it lies about 7° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 330,000 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Mu Norma
- Constellation
- Norma
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.86
- Distance
- 326200.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 248.521° · Dec -44.045°
- Catalogue
- HIP 81122 · HD 149038
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Other stars in Norma
Norma has 26 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Gamma 2 Norma4.01
- Epsilon Norma4.46
- Iota 1 Norma4.63
- Eta Norma4.65
- Delta Norma4.73
- Kappa Norma4.95
- Gamma 1 Norma4.97
- Theta Norma5.13