Nihal - β Leporis (beta Leporis)

Below the horizon. Rise: 1:19 | Tran: 5:24 | Set: 9:29

Alt: -11.83° Az: 108.54° Direction: East-South-East

Nihal, also designated as β Leporis (beta Leporis), is a variable and multiple bright giant star of spectral class G5 in the constellation of Lepus.

Nihal visual magnitude is 2.84. Because of its brightness, Nihal is clearly visible to the naked eye when observed from locations with dark skies, and should be also quite easily visible from light polluted areas.

Image of Nihal - β Leporis (beta Leporis) star

DSS2 image of Nihal. The red arrow shows the motion of Nihal during the next 10000 years (-0.67 arcmin in Right Ascension and -14.83 arcmin in declination);

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

Right Ascension 05h 29m 18s

Declination -20° 44’ 26”

Hour Angle 18h 28m 27s

Sideral Time 23h 57m 45s

J2000

Right Ascension 05h 28m 14s

Declination -20° 45’ 33”

Galactic Coordinates

Galactic Longitude 223.56°

Galactic Latitude -27.2°

Finder Chart

Simplified finder chart for Nihal - β Leporis (beta Leporis).

Magnitude, Color, Spectral Class

Color ⬤

Magnitude 2.84

Class Bright giant

Absolute magnitude -0.60

Spectral Type G5II

Color Index (B-V) 0.82

Temperature 5221K

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

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

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:

Main star magnitude 2.84

Secondary star magnitude 7.34

Magnitude difference 4.5

Separation 2.6 arcsec

Distance, Radial Speed, Proper Motion

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.

Distance (parsec) 48.80

Distance (light year) 159.10

Radial Speed -14 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.004 arcsec/y

Proper Motion Dec -0.089"/y

Alternative Designations

Proper Name Nihal

Bayer designation β Leporis
(beta Leporis)

Flamsteed designation 9 Leporis

Henry Draper Catalogue HD36079

SAO Catalogue SAO170457

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP25606

Durchmusterung Catalogue BD-20 1096

FK5 Catalogue 204

General Catalogue of Variable Stars 2008

Aitken Double Star Catalogue ADS4066

Visibility from Your Location

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

Azimuth: 110.7° RISE 1:19

Max altitude: 17.8° TRANSIT 5:24

Azimuth: 249.3° SET 9:29

Set Location

Other stars in Lepus