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Star · K3III

HIP 62861

HIP 62861 is a giant star of spectral type K3III in the constellation Centaurus, 436.7 light-years from the Sun.

ConstellationCentaurus
Distance436.7 light-years (133.9 pc)
Apparent magnitudemagnitude 5.91
Absolute magnitudemagnitude 0.28
Spectral typeK3III
Surface temperature4,110 K
Luminosity170 L☉
Radius25.8 R☉
Mass3.94 M☉ (estimated)
Right ascension (J2000)12h 53m 04.2s
Declination (J2000)−54° 57′ 09″
Space velocity (relative to the Sun)62.8 km/s

In the sky

Visible to the naked eye under a dark sky (apparent magnitude 5.91). Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 35° N. South of latitude 35° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in April, the best time to observe it.

Through a telescope from Earth

Light's journey

The light you see tonight set out around the year 1589. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 7.7 million years.

The Sun seen from there

From a planet around HIP 62861, the Sun would look like a star of magnitude 10.46, in the direction where our sky has the constellation Cassiopeia. 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.