Orange giant · Cancer

Asellus Australis

Also known as: δ Cancri (δ Cnc), HIP 42911

mag 3.9130 light-years

About

Asellus Australis (δ Cancri) is an orange giant of magnitude 3.9 in Cancer, about 130 light-years away.

Asellus Australis is in the constellation Cancer.
Best evenings: around mid-March it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from north of 62° S.

When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.

EyesVisible from the suburbs on a clear night, but lost in bright city skies.
Binoculars (10×50)A sharp point; binoculars bring out its colour and the fainter stars around it.
Telescope (6–8 inch)Still a point of light at any magnification — stars are too far away to show a disc. Low in the sky, bright stars twinkle and flash colours.

Stars look the same in any instrument: brighter and sharper, but never bigger.

Proper name	Asellus Australis
Designation	δ Cancri (δ Cnc)
Hipparcos number	HIP 42911
Type	Orange giant
Spectral type	K0III
Colour	Pale orangeB−V colour index 1.08
Magnitude	3.9The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	130 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1900.
Proper motion	0.23″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Cancer
Right ascension (J2000)	08h 44m 41.1s
Declination (J2000)	+18° 09′ 15″