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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations » Cancer » 

σ3 Cancri (sigma3 Cancri)

Altitude: -0.9°   Azimuth: 28.4°   Direction: North-North-East

σ3 Cancri is a double giant star in the constellation of Cancer.

σ3 Cancri visual magnitude is 5.2. Because of its reltive faintness, σ3 Cancri should be visible only from locations with dark skies, while it is not visible at all from skies affected by light pollution.

The proper motion of σ3 Cancri is -0.045 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.035 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of σ3 Cancri (sigma3 Cancri) star
DSS2 image of σ3 Cancri. The red arrow shows the motion of σ3 Cancri during the next 10000 years (-7.50 arcmin in Right Ascension and -5.83 arcmin in declination);

Key facts about σ3 Cancri

5.2
Giant

σ3 Cancri (sigma3 Cancri) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -0.9°
Azimuth: 28.4°
Direction: North-North-East

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of σ3 Cancri

σ3 Cancri is situated north of the celestial equator, as such, it is more easily visible from the northern hemisphere. Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox as well as galactic coordinates of σ3 Cancri are provided in the following table:

08h 59m 32s
+32° 25’ 06”
192.05°
40.01°
Cancer

The simplified sky map below shows the position of σ3 Cancri in the sky:

Finder chart σ3 Cancri (sigma3 Cancri) star
Simplified finder chart for σ3 Cancri (sigma3 Cancri).

Visibility of σ3 Cancri from your location

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

Today's σ3 Cancri (sigma3 Cancri) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 57.6°
Max altitude: 70.9°
Azimuth: 302.4°

Distance of σ3 Cancri from the Sun and relative movement

σ3 Cancri is distant 319.92 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 23 kilometers per second.

98.14 pc
319.92 ly
23 km/s
-0.045 arcsec/year
-0.035 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of σ3 Cancri

σ3 Cancri belongs to spectral class G8 and has a luminosity class of III corresponding to a giant star.

0.24
G8III
4917K

The red dot in the diagram below shows where σ3 Cancri is situated in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.

HR Diagram
H-R diagram showing the position of σ3 Cancri. Attribution: Richard Powell / CC BY-SA

σ3 Cancri star system properties

σ3 Cancri is a visual double star which can be observed with binoculars or small telescopes. The table below shows key information about the σ3 Cancri double sysyem:

5.2
9
3.8
89.3 arcsec

Alternative designations of σ3 Cancri

σ3 Cancri
(sigma3 Cancri)
SAO61177
SAO61177