Star profile

Kaus Borealis

Lambda Sagittarii · Sagittarius

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

What is Kaus Borealis

Kaus Borealis traces the northern curve of Sagittarius's bow, the centaur archer who aims at the very heart of the Milky Way. The name is a hybrid: «Kaus» from the Arabic «qaws», «bow», and «Borealis» from the Latin for «of the north». An orange K-class giant about 78 light-years away, it is a mature star whose warm hue crowns the upper tip of the celestial weapon.

Where it is and when to see it

Kaus Borealis 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 culminates about 13° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 24° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 82° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 65° N.

It ranks no. 5 in brightness among the 117 stars of Sagittarius in our catalogue. To find it, start from Kaus Australis, the brightest: it lies about 9° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 78 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Kaus Borealis

Constellation: Sagittarius
Apparent magnitude: 2.82
Distance: 78.2 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 276.993° · Dec -25.422°
Catalogue: HIP 90496 · HD 169916

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Other stars in Sagittarius

Sagittarius has 117 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 117 stars in Sagittarius