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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: 5:44  
clear_day Transit: 12:03  
SunsetSet: 18:24
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All Constellations » Crux » 

ζ Crucis (zeta Crucis)

Altitude: -77.4°   Azimuth: 175.7°   Direction: South

ζ Crucis is a double main-sequence star in the constellation of Crux.

ζ Crucis visual magnitude is 4.04. Because of its moderate brightness, ζ Crucis should be easily visible from locations with dark skies, while it can be barely visible, or not visible at all, from skies affected by light pollution.

The proper motion of ζ Crucis is -0.05 arcsec per year in Right Ascension and -0.01 arcsec per year in Declination and the associated displacement for the next 10000 years is represented with the red arrow.

Image of ζ Crucis (zeta Crucis) star
DSS2 image of ζ Crucis. The red arrow shows the motion of ζ Crucis during the next 10000 years (-8.33 arcmin in Right Ascension and -1.67 arcmin in declination);

Key facts about ζ Crucis

4.04
Main-sequence

ζ Crucis (zeta Crucis) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: -77.4°
Azimuth: 175.7°
Direction: South

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of ζ Crucis

ζ Crucis 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 ζ Crucis are provided in the following table:

12h 18m 26s
-64° 00’ 11”
299.33°
-1.36°
Crux

The simplified sky map below shows the position of ζ Crucis in the sky:

Finder chart ζ Crucis (zeta Crucis) star
Simplified finder chart for ζ Crucis (zeta Crucis).

Visibility of ζ Crucis from your location

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

ζ Crucis (zeta Crucis) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt

Distance of ζ Crucis from the Sun and relative movement

ζ Crucis is distant 361.02 light years from the Sun and it is moving far from the Sun at the speed of 16 kilometers per second.

110.74 pc
361.02 ly
16 km/s
-0.05 arcsec/year
-0.01 arcsec/year

Spectral properties of ζ Crucis

ζ Crucis belongs to spectral class B2 and has a luminosity class of V corresponding to a main-sequence star.

-1.18
B2V
12902K

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

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

ζ Crucis star system properties

ζ Crucis 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 ζ Crucis double sysyem:

4.04
13.04
9
33.8 arcsec

Alternative designations of ζ Crucis

ζ Crucis
(zeta Crucis)
SAO251841
SAO251841