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: 6:59  
clear_day Transit: 12:48  
SunsetSet: 18:36 south
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All Constellations » Ara » 

ι Arae (iota Arae)

Altitude: -28.3°   Azimuth: 131.8°   Direction: South-East

ι Arae is a variable and double giant star in the constellation of Ara.

ι Arae visual magnitude is 5.25. Because of its reltive faintness, ι Arae 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 ι Arae:

5.25
Giant

ι Arae (iota Arae) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -28.3°
Azimuth: 131.8°
Direction: South-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of ι Arae

ι Arae 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 ι Arae are provided in the following table:

17h 23m 16s
-47° 28’ 05”
342.01°
-6.33°
Ara

The simplified sky map below shows the position of ι Arae in the sky:

Finder chart ι Arae (iota Arae) star
Simplified finder chart for ι Arae (iota Arae).

Visibility of ι Arae from your location

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

ι Arae (iota Arae) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt

Digitized Sky Survey image of ι Arae

The image below is a photograph of ι Arae 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 ι Arae is -0.01 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.024 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of ι Arae (iota Arae) star
DSS2 image of ι Arae. The red arrow shows the motion of ι Arae during the next 10000 years (-1.67 arcmin in Right Ascension and -4.00 arcmin in declination);

Distance of ι Arae from the Sun and relative movement

ι Arae is distant 721.24 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 19 kilometers per second.

221.24 pc
721.24 ly
-19 km/s
-0.01 arcsec/year
-0.024 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of ι Arae

ι Arae belongs to spectral class B2 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

-1.47
B2III
11744K

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

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

ι Arae star system properties

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

5.25
10.55
5.3
42.8 arcsec

Alternative designations of ι Arae

ι Arae
(iota Arae)
SAO227886
SAO227886