η Crucis (eta Crucis)

η Crucis is a double giant star in the constellation of Crux.

η Crucis visual magnitude is 4.15. Because of its moderate brightness, η Crucis should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about η Crucis:

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of η Crucis

η Crucis 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 η Crucis are provided in the following table:

The simplified sky map below shows the position of η Crucis in the sky:

Visibility of η Crucis from your location

η Crucis (eta Crucis) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt

Digitized Sky Survey image of η Crucis

The image below is a photograph of η Crucis 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 η Crucis is 0.033 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.037 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Distance of η Crucis from the Sun and relative movement

η Crucis is distant 64.19 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 9 kilometers per second.

Spectral properties of η Crucis

η Crucis belongs to spectral class F2 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

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

η Crucis star system properties

η Crucis 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 η Crucis double sysyem:

Alternative designations of η Crucis