Orange giant · Crux

Ginan

Also known as: ε Crucis (ε Cru), HIP 60260

mag 3.6230 light-years

About

Ginan (ε Crucis) is an orange giant of magnitude 3.6 in Crux, about 230 light-years away.

Ginan is in the constellation Crux.
Best evenings: around mid-May 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 south of 20° N.
Star patterns: Southern Cross and the Pointers.

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	Ginan
Designation	ε Crucis (ε Cru)
Hipparcos number	HIP 60260
Type	Orange giant
Spectral type	K3/K4III
Colour	OrangeB−V colour index 1.39
Magnitude	3.6The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	230 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1800.
Proper motion	0.19″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Crux
Right ascension (J2000)	12h 21m 21.7s
Declination (J2000)	−60° 24′ 04″

Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →