Stars · Star in Crux
Star
Acrux
The foot of the Southern Cross, and the long arm’s signpost to the south celestial pole. A small telescope splits it in two.
- Constellation
- Crux
- Designation
- α¹ Crucis
- Apparent magnitude
- 0.77 · 13th brightest star in the night sky
- Spectral class
- B0.5IV
- Distance
- 322 light-years
- Position (J2000)
- RA 12h 27m · Dec −63° 06′
A blue-white subgiant, around 29,000 K, like Rigel and Spica. About 200× brighter than the faintest star the eye can see. The light you are seeing left around 1704.
Look for
Extend the long bar of the Cross four and a half times beyond Acrux to find the south celestial pole.
Did you know
Acrux is on the flag of Brazil, where each star stands for a state — Acrux is São Paulo.