Your guide to the Solar System and the night sky
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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 6:03  ☀️ Transit: 12:06  🌅 Sunset: 18:09

κ Arae (kappa Arae)

κ Arae is a multiple giant star in the constellation of Ara.

κ Arae visual magnitude is 5.23. Because of its reltive faintness, κ 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 κ Arae:

5.23
Giant
κ Arae (kappa Arae) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of κ Arae

κ Arae is situated south of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the southern emisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of κ Arae are provided in the following table:

17h 25m 59s
-50° 38’ 00”
339.6°
-8.45°
Ara

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

Finder chart κ Arae (kappa Arae) star
Simplified finder chart for κ Arae (kappa Arae).

Visibility of κ Arae from your location

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

κ Arae (kappa Arae) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Digitized Sky Survey image of κ Arae

The image below is a photograph of κ 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 κ Arae is 0.007 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.001 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of κ Arae (kappa Arae) star
DSS2 image of κ Arae. The red arrow shows the motion of κ Arae during the next 100000 years (11.67 arcmin in Right Ascension and 1.67 arcmin in declination);

Distance of κ Arae from the Sun and relative movement

κ Arae is distant 398.05 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 17 kilometers per second.

122.10 pc
398.05 ly
17 km/s
0.007 arcsec/year
0.001 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of κ Arae

κ Arae belongs to spectral class G8 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

-0.20
G8III
4603K

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

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

κ Arae star system properties

κ Arae 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 κ Arae double sysyem:

5.23
13.53
8.3
30 arcsec

Alternative designations of κ Arae

κ Arae
(kappa Arae)
SAO244734
SAO244734