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Cursa - β Eridani (beta Eridani)

Cursa, also designated as β Eridani (beta Eridani), is a variable and double giant star in the constellation of Eridanus.

Cursa visual magnitude is 2.79. Thanks to its high brightness, Cursa is clearly visible when observed from locations with dark skyes, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Cursa:

Color of Cursa ⬤

Magnitude of Cursa 2.79

Class Giant

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW Cursa - β Eridani (beta Eridani) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Cursa

Cursa 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 Cursa are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 05h 07m 50s

Declination J2000 -05° 05’ 11”

Galactic Longitude 205.34°

Galactic Latitude -25.31°

Constellation Eridanus

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

Finder chart Cursa - β Eridani (beta Eridani) star

Simplified finder chart for Cursa - β Eridani (beta Eridani).

Visibility of Cursa 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 Cursa - β Eridani (beta Eridani) 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: 95.1° RISE 8:04

Max altitude: 33.4° TRANSIT 13:36

Azimuth: 264.9° SET 19:09

RIGHT NOW Cursa - β Eridani (beta Eridani) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of Cursa

The image below is a photograph of Cursa 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 Cursa is -0.095 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.081 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Cursa - β Eridani (beta Eridani) star

DSS2 image of Cursa. The red arrow shows the motion of Cursa during the next 1000 years (-1.58 arcmin in Right Ascension and -1.35 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Cursa from the Sun and relative movement

Cursa is distant 88.80 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 9 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 27.24 pc

Distance (light year) 88.80 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -9 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.095 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.081 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Cursa

Cursa belongs to spectral class A3 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

Absolute magnitude 0.61

Spectral Type A3III

Color Index (B-V) 0.13

Temperature of Cursa 8748K

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

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

Cursa star system properties

Cursa 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 Cursa double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 2.79

Secondary star magnitude 10.79

Magnitude difference 8

Separation 116.7 arcsec

Alternative designations of Cursa

Proper Name Cursa

Bayer designation β Eridani
(beta Eridani)

Flamsteed designation 67 Eridani

Henry Draper Catalogue HD33111

SAO Catalogue SAO131794

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP23875

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD-05 1162

Gliese Catalogue Wo 9175

FK5 Catalogue 188

General Catalogue of Variable Stars 1841

In Evidence

Other stars in Eridanus