Star profile

Kappa Lyrae

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

What is Kappa Lyrae

Kappa Lyrae is a solitary orange K2 III giant lying some 238 light-years away at the edge of the Lyre, near the border with Hercules. Its radius has swollen to twenty solar radii, and it pours out more than 150 times the Sun's light with the coppery glow typical of stars that have left the main sequence. A serene ember, suspended near the celestial harp of Vega.

Where it is and when to see it

Kappa Lyrae lies in the northern 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 culminates about 75° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 85° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 20° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 54° S.

It ranks no. 6 in brightness among the 37 stars of Lyra in our catalogue. To find it, start from Vega, the brightest: it lies about 4° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 250 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 Kappa Lyrae

Constellation: Lyra
Apparent magnitude: 4.33
Distance: 251.7 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 274.965° · Dec 36.065°
Catalogue: HIP 89826 · HD 168775

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Other stars in Lyra

Lyra has 37 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 37 stars in Lyra