Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 | |
---|---|
Constellation | Centaurus |
Right ascension | 13h 22m 37.9371s [1] |
Declination | –60° 59′ 18.215″ [1] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | +4.505 [2] |
Characteristics | |
Spectral type | B3V [3] |
U−B color index | –0.62 [4] |
B−V color index | –0.13 [4] |
Astrometry | |
Radial velocity (Rv) | +6.0 [5] km/s |
Proper motion (μ) | RA: −35.50 [1] mas/yr Dec.: −15.19 [1] mas/yr |
Parallax (π) | 9.20 ± 0.58 mas [1] |
Distance | 350 ± 20 ly (109 ± 7 pc) |
Details | |
Luminosity | 500 [6] L☉ |
Surface gravity (log g) | 4.22 [6] cgs |
Temperature | 23,970 ± 3,080 [7] K |
Rotational velocity (v sin i) | 223 [8] km/s |
Other designations | |
Database references | |
SIMBAD | data |
J Centauri (J Cen) is a star in the constellation Centaurus. Its mean apparent magnitude is 4.5, making it easily visible to the naked eye. It is approximately 350 light years from Earth.
J Centauri is a spectral class B3V main sequence star with a luminosity 500 times that of the Sun. The temperature of the star's photosphere is nearly 24,000 K. The rotation velocity at the equator is at least 223 km/s. [8] It is believed to be a binary star system. [9]
This star may be a member of the Scorpio-Centaurus OB association (Sco OB2). This is one of the nearest regions of recent star formation. [10]
Omicron Scorpii is a star in the zodiac constellation of Scorpius. With an apparent visual magnitude of +4.57, it is visible to the naked eye. Parallax measurements indicate a distance of roughly 900 light years. It is located in the proximity of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud.
Eta Centauri, Latinized from η Centauri, is a star in the southern constellation of Centaurus. It has an apparent visual magnitude of +2.35 and is located at a distance of around 306 light-years.
Delta Centauri, Latinized from δ Centauri, is a star in the southern constellation of Centaurus. The apparent visual magnitude of this star is +2.57, making it readily visible to the naked eye. Based upon parallax measurements, it is located at a distance of about 410 light-years from the Earth. The star is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +11 km/s.
Lambda Centauri, Latinized from λ Centauri, is a star in the southern circumpolar constellation of Centaurus. It has an apparent visual magnitude of +3.13, which is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere and places it among the brighter members of this constellation. The star is close enough that its distance can be determined directly using the parallax technique, which gives a value of approximately 470 light-years from the Sun. Although a putative solitary star, it has a candidate proper motion companion at an angular separation of 0.73 arcseconds along a position angle of 135°. The nebula IC 2944 lies nearby.
Kappa Centauri is a binary star in the southern constellation of Centaurus. With an apparent visual magnitude of +3.14, it can be viewed with the naked eye on a dark night. Parallax measurements place it at an estimated distance of 380 light-years from Earth.
Nu Centauri, Latinized from ν Centauri, is a binary star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus. The combined apparent visual magnitude of the pair is +3.41, making this one of the brightest members of the constellation. Based upon parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos mission, this star system is located at a distance of roughly 437 light-years from Earth. The margin of error for this distance is about 2%, which is enough to give an error in distance of ±10 light years.
Mu Centauri, Latinized from μ Centauri, is a third-magnitude star in the southern constellation of Centaurus. With the stars ν and φ Centauri, it marks what has been traditionally portrayed as "dextro Latere" of the Centaur. The apparent visual magnitude of this star is 3.42, making it one of the brighter members of the constellation. The distance to this star can be estimated directly using parallax measurements, which yield a value of roughly 510 light years (155 parsecs) from Earth.
Phi Centauri, Latinized from φ Centauri, is a blue-white hued star in the southern constellation Centaurus. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +3.7. The annual parallax shift is 6.21 mas as measured from Earth, which yields a distance estimate of around 530 light years. It is moving further from the Sun with a radial velocity of +5 km/s.
Sigma Centauri, Latinized from σ Centauri, is the Bayer designation for a solitary star in the southern constellation of Centaurus. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 3.91. A visual companion at an angular separation of 88.11±0.37 mas along a position angle of 14.33°±2.59° was detected in 2010 using interferometry, but its association with Sigma Centauri remains undetermined as of 2013. The distance to Sigma Centauri, based upon an annual parallax shift of 7.92 mas, is around 412 light years.
Rho Centauri, Latinized from ρ Centauri, is a binary star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus. It is visible to the naked eye as a blue-white hued point of light with a combined apparent visual magnitude of +3.97. The system is located approximately 276 light years from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of around +15 km/s. It is a proper motion member of the Lower Centaurus–Crux sub-group in the Scorpius–Centaurus OB association, the nearest such association of co-moving massive stars to the Sun.
HD 129116 is a binary star in the northeastern part of Centaurus, east of Menkent. It is also known by its Bayer designation of b Centauri, while HD 129116 is the star's identifier in the Henry Draper catalogue. This object has a blue-white hue and is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +4.01. It is located at a distance of approximately 325 light years from the Sun based on parallax, and has an absolute magnitude of −1.07.
E Centauri is a single star in the southern constellation of Centaurus. It is a white-hued star that is dimly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of +5.34. The distance to this object is approximately 560 light years based on parallax, and it has an absolute magnitude of −0.97. It is drifting closer to the Sun with a radial velocity of +7 km/s, and it is a candidate member of the Lower Centaurus Crux subgroup of the Sco OB2 association.
HD 113703, also known by the Bayer designation f Centauri, is a multiple star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus. The combined apparent visual magnitude of this system is +4.71, which is sufficient to make it faintly visible to the naked eye. The distance to this system is approximately 400 light years based on parallax measurements. It is a member of the Lower Centaurus Crux subgroup of the Scorpius–Centaurus association.
The Scorpius–Centaurus association is the nearest OB association to the Sun. This stellar association is composed of three subgroups and its distance is about 130 parsecs or 420 light-years. Analysis using improved Hipparcos data has brought the number of known members to 436. The cluster shows a continuous spread of stars with no apparent need for subclassification.
Delta Lupi is a star in the southern circumpolar constellation of Lupus. In traditional Chinese astronomy, it is "the 2nd (star) of the Cavalry Officer" (騎官二). With an apparent visual magnitude of 3.2, it is the fourth-brightest star in the constellation. The distance to this star has been measured using the parallax technique, yielding an estimate of roughly 900 light-years with a 15% margin of error.
HD 105382 is a star in the constellation Centaurus. Its apparent magnitude is 4.47. From parallax measurements, it is located 130 parsecs from the Sun.
ι Lupi, Latinised as Iota Lupi, is a solitary star in the southern constellation of Lupus. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 3.54. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 9.65 mas as seen from Earth, it is located around 338 light years from the Sun. At that distance, the visual magnitude of the star is diminished by an extinction factor of 0.23 due to interstellar dust. Relative to its neighbors, this star has a peculiar velocity of 27.4±4.9 km/s. It appears to be a member of the Scorpio-Centaurus OB association.
Theta Lupi, Latinized from θ Lupi, is a solitary star in the southern constellation of Lupus. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.22. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 7.87 mas as seen from Earth, it is located roughly 410 light years away from the Sun. Relative to its neighbors, this star has a peculiar velocity of 16.7±3.7 km/s. It is a member of the nearby Sco OB2 association.
Xi1 Lupi (ξ1 Lup, ξ1 Lupi) is a probable binary star in the southern constellation of Lupus. It is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.1, and forms a visual double star with Xi2 Lupi. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 23.60 mas as seen from Earth, it is located around 140 light-years from the Sun. It is a member of the Upper Scorpius sub-group of the nearby Sco OB2 association.
HD 142250 is a star in the constellation Scorpius. It has a visual apparent magnitude of 6.1, being visible to the naked eye only in excellent seeing conditions. From parallax measurements, it is located 486 light-years (149 parsecs) away from Earth. This distance, together with the star's proper motion, indicate that HIP 77900 is a member of the Upper Scorpius subgroup of the Scorpius–Centaurus association, the nearest OB association to the Sun. This subgroup is the youngest of the three of the association, with an estimated age of 11 million years.