Star profile

Kappa Ara

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

What is Kappa Ara

Kappa Arae is an orange K1 giant 460 light-years away, in the southern Altar, the constellation the ancient Greeks saw as the ara on which the Olympian gods swore their alliance before the war against the Titans. Her surface sits near 4,500 degrees and she pours out close to two hundred solar luminosities. She is a tempered ember anchored in one of the oldest constellations of Ptolemy's catalog.

Where it is and when to see it

Kappa 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.

Find it on the sky map

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The signature wall

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Write my signature

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 Kappa Ara

Constellation: Ara
Apparent magnitude: 5.19
Distance: 455.6 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 261.500° · Dec -50.634°
Catalogue: HIP 85312 · HD 157457

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