Star profile
Gamma Ara
Hot blue starWhat is Gamma Ara
Gamma Arae burns more than eleven hundred light-years away, a blue B-type supergiant whose surface temperature defies easy comparison. It marks a corner of the southern Altar, that small constellation the ancients tucked beside Scorpius for the sacrifice of myths. Its intense, cold-tinted glow comes from a star living fast and bound to die young, leaving behind the radiance we now see.
Where it is and when to see it
Gamma 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 68° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 34° N.
It ranks no. 4 in brightness among the 43 stars of Ara in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Ara, the brightest: it lies about 1° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 1,100 years ago.
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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 Gamma Ara
- Constellation
- Ara
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.31
- Distance
- 1113.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 261.349° · Dec -56.378°
- Catalogue
- HIP 85267 · HD 157246
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.
- Beta Ara2.84
- Alpha Ara2.84
- Zeta Ara3.12
- Delta Ara3.60
- Theta Ara3.65
- Eta Ara3.77
- Epsilon 1 Ara4.06
- Sigma Ara4.56