Star · B8
Red Rectangle
Red Rectangle is a giant star of spectral type B8 in the constellation Monoceros, 1,437 light-years from the Sun.
| Other names | HIP 30089 |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Monoceros |
| Distance | 1,437 light-years (440.5 pc) |
| Apparent magnitude | magnitude 8.85 |
| Absolute magnitude | magnitude 0.63 |
| Spectral type | B8 |
| Surface temperature | 7,190 K |
| Luminosity | 47.8 L☉ |
| Radius | 4.45 R☉ |
| Mass | 2.74 M☉ (estimated) |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 6h 19m 58.2s |
| Declination (J2000) | −10° 38′ 15″ |
| Space velocity (relative to the Sun) | 53.8 km/s |
In the sky
Too faint for the naked eye (magnitude 8.85); binoculars will find it. Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 79° N. South of latitude 79° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in December, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 589. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 25 million years.
The Sun seen from there
From a planet around Red Rectangle, the Sun would look like a star of magnitude 13.05, in the direction where our sky has the constellation Ophiuchus. It would be invisible to the naked eye.
Position, brightness and colour from the HYG / AT-HYG catalogue; temperature, luminosity, radius and mass are approximate values computed from these observations.