Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 4:53  
clear_day Transit: 12:55  
SunsetSet: 20:58 south
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All Constellations » Crux » 

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:

4.15
Giant
η Crucis (eta Crucis) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

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:

12h 06m 52s
-64° 36’ 48”
298.18°
-2.15°
Crux

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

Finder chart η Crucis (eta Crucis) star
Simplified finder chart for η Crucis (eta Crucis).

Visibility of η Crucis from your location

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

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.

Image of η Crucis (eta Crucis) star
DSS2 image of η Crucis. The red arrow shows the motion of η Crucis during the next 10000 years (5.50 arcmin in Right Ascension and -6.17 arcmin in declination);

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.

19.69 pc
64.19 ly
9 km/s
0.033 arcsec/year
-0.037 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of η Crucis

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

2.68
F2III
7217K

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

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

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:

4.15
11.65
7.5
44 arcsec

Alternative designations of η Crucis

η Crucis
(eta Crucis)
SAO251742
SAO251742
Gl 455.2