We use cookies to deliver essential features and to measure their performance. Learn more.
Home
Search Objects
Major Solar System Objects
Comets
Asteroids
Spacecrafts
Star Maps
Orbits
public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 6:56 
Transit: 11:43 
Sunset: 16:29
sleep   (Nighttime)  
What's Visible Now • Tonight Timeline
Search  close
All Constellations » Lyra » 

Vega - α Lyrae (alpha Lyrae)

Above the horizon.  Circumpolar today
Alt: 53.98°   Az: 269.04°   Direction: West

Vega, also designated as α Lyrae (alpha Lyrae), is a variable and multiple hypergiant star of spectral class A0 in the constellation of Lyra.

Vega visual magnitude is 0.03, making it the 5th brightest star in the sky. Because of its brightness, Vega 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 Vega - α Lyrae (alpha Lyrae) star
DSS2 image of Vega. The red arrow shows the motion of Vega during the next 1000 years (3.37 arcmin in Right Ascension and 4.77 arcmin in declination);

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

18h 37m 46s
+38° 48’ 21”
03h 15m 55s
21h 53m 42s

J2000

18h 36m 56s
+38° 47’ 00”

Galactic Coordinates

67.44°
19.24°

Finder Chart

Finder chart Vega - α Lyrae (alpha Lyrae) star
Simplified finder chart for Vega - α Lyrae (alpha Lyrae).

Magnitude, Color, Spectral Class

0.03
Hypergiant

0.58
A0V
10125K

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

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

Star System Properties

Vega is a visual double star which can be observed only with the help of very large telescopes. The table below shows key information about the Vega double sysyem:

0.03
10.43
10.4
62.8 arcsec

Distance, Radial Speed, Proper Motion

Vega is distant 25.29 light years from the Sun and it is moving towards the Sun at the speed of 14 kilometers per second.

7.76
25.29
-14 km/s
0.202 arcsec/y
0.286"/y

Alternative Designations

Vega
α Lyrae
(alpha Lyrae)
SAO67174
SAO67174

Visibility from Your Location

Vega - α Lyrae (alpha Lyrae) is circumpolar and transits at 15:48 UTC (altitude: 77.3°)