Stars · Star in Centaurus
Star
Hadar
The second Pointer to the Southern Cross: a hot blue triple star nearly a hundred times farther away than its partner, Rigil Kentaurus.
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Designation
- β Centauri
- Apparent magnitude
- 0.61 · 11th brightest star in the night sky
- Spectral class
- B1III
- Distance
- 392 light-years
- Position (J2000)
- RA 14h 04m · Dec −60° 22′
A blue-white giant, around 28,000 K, like Rigel and Spica. About 230× brighter than the faintest star the eye can see. The light you are seeing left around 1634.
Look for
The two Pointers look like a pair, but Rigil Kentaurus is 4.4 light-years away and Hadar nearly a hundred times that — a perfect lesson in how constellations are made of strangers.