Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman - α1 Centauri (alpha1 Centauri)

Altitude: -43.1° Azimuth: 138.1° Direction: South-East

Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman, also designated as α1 Centauri (alpha1 Centauri), is a multiple main-sequence star in the constellation of Centaurus.

Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman visual magnitude is -0.01. Thanks to its high brightness, Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman 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 Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman:

Color of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman ⬤

Magnitude of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman -0.01

Class Main-sequence

VISIBILITY RIGHT NOW

Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman - α1 Centauri (alpha1 Centauri) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -43.1°
Azimuth: 138.1°
Direction: South-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman

Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman 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 Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman are provided in the following table:

Right Ascension J2000 14h 39m 35s

Declination J2000 -60° 50’ 07”

Galactic Longitude 315.78°

Galactic Latitude -0.71°

Constellation Centaurus

The simplified sky map below shows the position of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman in the sky:

Finder chart Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman - α1 Centauri (alpha1 Centauri) star

Simplified finder chart for Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman - α1 Centauri (alpha1 Centauri).

Visibility of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman from your location

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

Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman - α1 Centauri (alpha1 Centauri) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt

Digitized Sky Survey image of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman

The image below is a photograph of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman 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 Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman is -3.642 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and 0.699 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 100 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman - α1 Centauri (alpha1 Centauri) star

DSS2 image of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman. The red arrow shows the motion of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman during the next 100 years (-6.07 arcmin in Right Ascension and 1.17 arcmin in declination);

Distance of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman from the Sun and relative movement

Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman is distant 4.39 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 22 kilometers per second.

Distance (parsec) 1.35 pc

Distance (light year) 4.39 ly

Heliocentric radial velocity -22 km/s

Proper Motion RA -3.642 arcsec/year

Proper Motion Dec 0.699 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman

Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman belongs to spectral class G2 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

Absolute magnitude 4.34

Spectral Type G2V

Color Index (B-V) 0.71

Temperature of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman 5568K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

H-R diagram showing the position of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman star system properties

Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman is a visual double star which can be observed with binoculars or small telescopes. The table below shows key information about the Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman double sysyem:

Main star magnitude -0.01

Secondary star magnitude 1.39

Magnitude difference 1.4

Separation 20.9 arcsec

Alternative designations of Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman

Proper Name Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman

Bayer designation α1 Centauri
(alpha1 Centauri)

Henry Draper Catalogue HD128620

SAO Catalogue SAO252838

Hipparcos Catalogue HIP71683

Durchmusterung Catalogue CP-60 5483

Gliese Catalogue Gl 559 A

FK5 Catalogue 538

In Evidence

Other stars in Centaurus