Your Eyes In Space Open the simulation

Star · K2II

HIP 54291

HIP 54291 is a bright giant star of spectral type K2II in the constellation Centaurus, 391.3 light-years from the Sun.

ConstellationCentaurus
Distance391.3 light-years (120.0 pc)
Apparent magnitudemagnitude 6.31
Absolute magnitudemagnitude 0.91
Spectral typeK2II
Surface temperature4,400 K
Luminosity72.7 L☉
Radius14.7 R☉
Mass3.09 M☉ (estimated)
Right ascension (J2000)11h 06m 27.5s
Declination (J2000)−50° 57′ 24″
Space velocity (relative to the Sun)33.1 km/s

In the sky

Visible to the naked eye under a dark sky (apparent magnitude 6.31). Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 39° N. South of latitude 39° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in March, the best time to observe it.

Through a telescope from Earth

Light's journey

The light you see tonight set out around the year 1635. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 6.9 million years.

The Sun seen from there

From a planet around HIP 54291, the Sun would look like a star of magnitude 10.23, in the direction where our sky has the constellation Andromeda. It would be invisible to the naked eye.

Open in the simulation

Position, brightness and colour from the HYG / AT-HYG catalogue; temperature, luminosity, radius and mass are approximate values computed from these observations.