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Star profile

Eta Ara

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Eta Ara

Eta Arae is an orange giant with 575 times the Sun's luminosity and a radius forty times greater, an aged star of five billion years anchored in the Altar's southern frame. It spins so slowly that a single rotation takes more than eleven Earth years. Its copper-colored light has been traveling for three centuries before reaching tonight's sky.

Where it is and when to see it

Eta Ara 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 65° up.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 31° N.

It ranks no. 7 in brightness among the 43 stars of Ara in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Ara, the brightest: it lies about 6° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 300 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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Leave your signature on Eta Ara

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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 Eta Ara

Constellation
Ara
Apparent magnitude
3.77
Distance
299.3 light years
Coordinates (J2000)
RA 252.446° · Dec -59.041°
Catalogue
HIP 82363 · HD 151249

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

Other stars in Ara

Ara has 43 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 43 stars in Ara