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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: 7:47  
clear_day Transit: 11:49  
SunsetSet: 15:50 south
sleep NighttimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Cassiopeia » 

HR261

Altitude: 67.3°   Azimuth: 331.0°   Direction: North-North-West

HR261 is a giant star in the constellation of Cassiopeia.

HR261 visual magnitude is 6.37. Because of its reltive faintness, HR261 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 HR261:

6.37
Giant

HR261 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 67.3°
Azimuth: 331.0°
Direction: North-North-West

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of HR261

HR261 is situated close to the northern celestial pole and, as such, it is visible for most part of the year from the northern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of HR261 are provided in the following table:

00h 56m 55s
+68° 46’ 33”
123.43°
5.91°
Cassiopeia

The simplified sky map below shows the position of HR261 in the sky:

Finder chart HR261 star
Simplified finder chart for HR261.

Visibility of HR261 from your location

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

HR261 is circumpolar and transits at 19:59 UTC (altitude: 72.7°)

Digitized Sky Survey image of HR261

The image below is a photograph of HR261 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 HR261 is 0.137 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.021 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 1000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of HR261 star
DSS2 image of HR261. The red arrow shows the motion of HR261 during the next 1000 years (2.28 arcmin in Right Ascension and -0.35 arcmin in declination);

Distance of HR261 from the Sun and relative movement

HR261 is distant 194.86 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 8 kilometers per second.

59.77 pc
194.86 ly
-8 km/s
0.137 arcsec/year
-0.021 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of HR261

HR261 belongs to spectral class F4 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

2.49
F4III
6989K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where HR261 is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of HR261. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Alternative designations of HR261

SAO11481
SAO11481