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public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 4:57 
Transit: 12:56 
Sunset: 20:56
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All Constellations » Centaurus » 

γ Centauri (gamma Centauri)

Below the horizon.  Never rises today
Alt: -22.50°   Az: 142.50°   Direction: South-East

γ Centauri is a multiple sub-giant star of spectral class A1 in the constellation of Centaurus.

γ Centauri visual magnitude is 2.17. Because of its brightness, γ Centauri is clearly visible to the naked eye when observed from locations with dark skies, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

Image of γ Centauri (gamma Centauri) star
DSS2 image of γ Centauri. The red arrow shows the motion of γ Centauri during the next 1000 years (-3.15 arcmin in Right Ascension and -0.08 arcmin in declination);

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

12h 42m 56s
-49° 05’ 55”
20h 03m 09s
08h 46m 05s

J2000

12h 41m 30s
-48° 57’ 34”

Galactic Coordinates

301.26°
13.88°

Finder Chart

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Finder chart for γ Centauri (gamma Centauri).

Magnitude, Color, Spectral Class

2.17
Sub-giant

-0.84
A1IV
10252K

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

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

Star System Properties

γ Centauri is a visual double star which can be observed with the help of medium or large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the γ Centauri double sysyem:

2.17
2.27
0.1
1.5 arcsec

Distance, Radial Speed, Proper Motion

γ Centauri is distant 130.35 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 6 kilometers per second.

39.98
130.35
-6 km/s
-0.189 arcsec/y
-0.005"/y

Alternative Designations

γ Centauri
(gamma Centauri)
SAO223603
SAO223603

Visibility from Your Location

γ Centauri (gamma Centauri) is currently not visible from Greenwich, UK