ρ Centauri (rho Centauri)

ρ Centauri is a main-sequence star in the constellation of Centaurus.

ρ Centauri visual magnitude is 3.96. Because of its moderate brightness, ρ Centauri should be easily visible from locations with dark skyes, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skyes affected by light pollution.

The table below summarizes the key facts about ρ Centauri:

Color of ρ Centauri ⬤

Magnitude of ρ Centauri 3.96

Class Main-sequence

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW ρ Centauri (rho Centauri) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of ρ Centauri

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

Right Ascension J2000 12h 11m 39s

Declination J2000 -52° 22’ 06”

Galactic Longitude 296.78°

Galactic Latitude 10.03°

Constellation Centaurus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of ρ Centauri in the sky:

Finder chart ρ Centauri (rho Centauri) star

Simplified finder chart for ρ Centauri (rho Centauri).

Visibility of ρ Centauri from your location

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

ρ Centauri (rho Centauri) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt

Digitized Sky Survey image of ρ Centauri

The image below is a photograph of ρ Centauri 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 ρ Centauri is -0.035 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.016 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

DSS2 image of ρ Centauri. The red arrow shows the motion of ρ Centauri during the next 10000 years (-5.83 arcmin in Right Ascension and -2.67 arcmin in declination);

Distance of ρ Centauri from the Sun and relative movement

ρ Centauri is distant 342.08 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 15 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 104.93 pc

Distance (light year) 342.08 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity 15 km/s

Proper Motion RA -0.035 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec -0.016 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of ρ Centauri

ρ Centauri belongs to spectral class B3 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

Absolute magnitude -1.14

Spectral Type B3V

Color Index (B-V) -0.15

Temperature of ρ Centauri 12489K

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

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

Alternative designations of ρ Centauri

Bayer designation ρ Centauri
(rho Centauri)

Henry Draper Catalogue HD105937

SAO Catalogue SAO239737

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP59449

Durchmusterung Catalogue CD-51 6455

In Evidence

Other stars in Centaurus