κ Pyxidis (kappa Pyxidis)

Below the horizon. Rise: 14:19 | Tran: 17:47 | Set: 21:15

Alt: -6.44° Az: 235.56° Direction: South-West

κ Pyxidis is a variable and double giant star of spectral class K4 in the constellation of Pyxis.

κ Pyxidis visual magnitude is 4.58. Because of its moderate brightness, κ Pyxidis is easily visible to the naked eye from locations with dark skies, while it might be barely visible, or not visible at all, from light-polluted skies.

DSS2 image of κ Pyxidis. The red arrow shows the motion of κ Pyxidis during the next 10000 years (6.83 arcmin in Right Ascension and 1.33 arcmin in declination);

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

Right Ascension 09h 09m 09s

Declination -25° 57’ 43”

Hour Angle 04h 22m 50s

Sidereal Time 13h 32m 00s

J2000

Right Ascension 09h 08m 02s

Declination -25° 51’ 29”

Galactic Coordinates

Galactic Longitude 252.64°

Galactic Latitude 14.52°

Finder Chart

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Finder chart for κ Pyxidis (kappa Pyxidis).

Magnitude, Color, Spectral Class

Color ⬤

Magnitude 4.58

Class Giant

Absolute magnitude -1.29

Spectral Type K4III

Color Index (B-V) 1.59

Temperature 3663K

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

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

Star System Properties

κ Pyxidis 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 κ Pyxidis double sysyem:

Main star magnitude 4.58

Secondary star magnitude 9.78

Magnitude difference 5.2

Separation 2.1 arcsec

Distance, Radial Speed, Proper Motion

κ Pyxidis is distant 487.29 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 45 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 149.48

Distance (light year) 487.29

Radial Speed -45 km/s

Proper Motion RA 0.041 arcsec/y

Proper Motion Dec 0.008"/y

Alternative Designations

Bayer designation κ Pyxidis
(kappa Pyxidis)

Henry Draper Catalogue HD78541

SAO Catalogue SAO177002

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP44824

Durchmusterung Catalogue CD-25 6895

General Catalogue of Variable Stars 4389

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS7202

Visibility from Your Location

Today's κ Pyxidis (kappa Pyxidis) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, UK are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 116.0° RISE 14:19

Max altitude: 12.6° TRANSIT 17:47

Azimuth: 244.0° SET 21:15

Set Location

Other stars in Pyxis