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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:41  
clear_day Transit: 11:47  
SunsetSet: 15:53 south
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All Constellations » Gemini » 

56 Geminorum

Altitude: 55.7°   Azimuth: 212.1°   Direction: South-South-West

56 Geminorum is a variable and multiple hypergiant star in the constellation of Gemini.

56 Geminorum visual magnitude is 5.1. Because of its reltive faintness, 56 Geminorum should be visible only from locations with dark skyes, while it is not visible at all from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about 56 Geminorum:

5.1
Hypergiant

56 Geminorum is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 55.7°
Azimuth: 212.1°
Direction: South-South-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of 56 Geminorum

56 Geminorum is situated close to the celestial equator, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of 56 Geminorum are provided in the following table:

07h 21m 56s
+20° 26’ 36”
197.63°
15.66°
Gemini

The simplified sky map below shows the position of 56 Geminorum in the sky:

Finder chart 56 Geminorum star
Simplified finder chart for 56 Geminorum.

Visibility of 56 Geminorum from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's 56 Geminorum rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 69.6°
Max altitude: 59.0°
Azimuth: 290.4°

Digitized Sky Survey image of 56 Geminorum

The image below is a photograph of 56 Geminorum from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins). The proper motion of 56 Geminorum is -0.066 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.027 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of 56 Geminorum star
DSS2 image of 56 Geminorum. The red arrow shows the motion of 56 Geminorum during the next 10000 years (-11.00 arcmin in Right Ascension and -4.50 arcmin in declination);

Distance of 56 Geminorum from the Sun and relative movement

56 Geminorum is distant 428.38 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 4 kilometers per second.

131.41 pc
428.38 ly
4 km/s
-0.066 arcsec/year
-0.027 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of 56 Geminorum

56 Geminorum belongs to spectral class M0 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a hypergiant star.

-0.49
M0III
3764K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where 56 Geminorum is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of 56 Geminorum. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

56 Geminorum star system properties

56 Geminorum is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the 56 Geminorum double sysyem:

5.1
12.5
7.4
16.5 arcsec

Alternative designations of 56 Geminorum

56 Geminorum
SAO79328
SAO79328