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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: 7:44  
clear_day Transit: 11:48  
SunsetSet: 15:51 south
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All Constellations » Ara » 

Cervantes - μ Arae (mu Arae)

Altitude: -31.7°   Azimuth: 225.0°   Direction: South-West

Cervantes, also designated as μ Arae (mu Arae), is a sub-giant star in the constellation of Ara.

Cervantes visual magnitude is 5.15. Because of its reltive faintness, Cervantes 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 Cervantes:

5.15
Sub-giant

Cervantes - μ Arae (mu Arae) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -31.7°
Azimuth: 225.0°
Direction: South-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Cervantes

Cervantes is situated south of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the southern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of Cervantes are provided in the following table:

17h 44m 08s
-51° 50’ 03”
340.06°
-11.5°
Ara

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Cervantes in the sky:

Finder chart Cervantes - μ Arae (mu Arae) star
Simplified finder chart for Cervantes - μ Arae (mu Arae).

Visibility of Cervantes from your location

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

Cervantes - μ Arae (mu Arae) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt

Digitized Sky Survey image of Cervantes

The image below is a photograph of Cervantes 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 Cervantes is -0.014 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.194 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Cervantes - μ Arae (mu Arae) star
DSS2 image of Cervantes. The red arrow shows the motion of Cervantes during the next 1000 years (-0.23 arcmin in Right Ascension and -3.23 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Cervantes from the Sun and relative movement

Cervantes is distant 49.80 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 9 kilometers per second.

15.28 pc
49.80 ly
-9 km/s
-0.014 arcsec/year
-0.194 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Cervantes

Cervantes belongs to spectral class G3 and has a luminosity class of IV corresponding to a sub-giant star.

4.23
G3IV
5602K

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

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

Alternative designations of Cervantes

Cervantes
μ Arae
(mu Arae)
SAO244981
SAO244981