Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman - α1 Centauri (alpha1 Centauri)

Below the horizon. Never rises today

Alt: -22.43° Az: 181.00° Direction: South

Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman, also designated as α1 Centauri (alpha1 Centauri), is a multiple main-sequence star of spectral class G2 in the constellation of Centaurus.

Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman visual magnitude is -0.01. Because of its brightness, Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman 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 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);

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

Right Ascension 14h 41m 30s

Declination -60° 56’ 26”

Hour Angle 00h 07m 35s

Sideral Time 14h 49m 06s

J2000

Right Ascension 14h 39m 35s

Declination -60° 50’ 07”

Galactic Coordinates

Galactic Longitude 315.78°

Galactic Latitude -0.71°

Finder Chart

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

Magnitude, Color, Spectral Class

Color ⬤

Magnitude -0.01

Class Main-sequence

Absolute magnitude 4.34

Spectral Type G2V

Color Index (B-V) 0.71

Temperature 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

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

Distance, Radial Speed, Proper Motion

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

Distance (light year) 4.39

Radial Speed -22 km/s

Proper Motion RA -3.642 arcsec/y

Proper Motion Dec 0.699"/y

Alternative Designations

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

Visibility from Your Location

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

Set Location

Other stars in Centaurus