Nihal - β Leporis (beta Leporis)

Nihal, also designated as β Leporis (beta Leporis), is a variable and multiple bright giant star in the constellation of Lepus.

Nihal visual magnitude is 2.84. Thanks to its high brightness, Nihal is clearly visible when observed from locations with dark skyes, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

The table below summarizes the key facts about Nihal:

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Nihal

Nihal 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 Nihal are provided in the following table:

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

Visibility of Nihal from your location

Today's Nihal - β Leporis (beta Leporis) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Digitized Sky Survey image of Nihal

The image below is a photograph of Nihal 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 Nihal is -0.004 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.089 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Distance of Nihal from the Sun and relative movement

Nihal is distant 159.10 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 14 kilometers per second.

Spectral properties of Nihal

Nihal belongs to spectral class G5 and has a luminosity class of II corresponding to a bright giant star.

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

Nihal star system properties

Nihal 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 Nihal double sysyem:

Alternative designations of Nihal