Your guide to the Solar System and the night sky
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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 5:59  ☀️ Transit: 12:05  🌅 Sunset: 18:13

κ Cancri (kappa Cancri)

κ Cancri is a variable and multiple giant star in the constellation of Cancer.

κ Cancri visual magnitude is 5.24. Because of its reltive faintness, κ Cancri 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 Cancri:

5.24
Giant
κ Cancri (kappa Cancri) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. Altitude: 41°.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of κ Cancri

κ Cancri is situated close to the celestial equator, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of κ Cancri are provided in the following table:

09h 07m 44s
+10° 40’ 05”
218.99°
35.06°
Cancer

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

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

Visibility of κ Cancri from your location

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

Today's κ Cancri (kappa Cancri) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 79.3°
Max altitude: 49.2°
Azimuth: 280.7°
κ Cancri (kappa Cancri) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom

Digitized Sky Survey image of κ Cancri

The image below is a photograph of κ Cancri 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 Cancri is -0.02 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.01 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of κ Cancri (kappa Cancri) star
DSS2 image of κ Cancri. The red arrow shows the motion of κ Cancri during the next 10000 years (-3.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and -1.67 arcmin in declination);

Distance of κ Cancri from the Sun and relative movement

κ Cancri is distant 483.68 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 24 kilometers per second.

148.37 pc
483.68 ly
24 km/s
-0.02 arcsec/year
-0.01 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of κ Cancri

κ Cancri belongs to spectral class B8 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star. κ Cancri is also a Mn chemically peculiar star.

-0.62
B8III
11744K

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

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

κ Cancri star system properties

κ Cancri 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 Cancri double sysyem:

5.24
5.44
0.2
0.3 arcsec

Alternative designations of κ Cancri

κ Cancri
(kappa Cancri)
SAO98378
SAO98378