Yellow-white main-sequence star
Gumala
Also known as: HIP 94645
mag 6.390 light-years
About
Gumala is a yellow-white main-sequence star of magnitude 6.3, about 90 light-years away.
How to find it
- Best evenings: around late August 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 56° N.
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.
What you will see
- EyesAt the very limit of the naked eye; binoculars show it easily.
- 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.
Facts
| Proper name | Gumala |
|---|---|
| Hipparcos number | HIP 94645 |
| Type | Yellow-white main-sequence star |
| Spectral type | F8V |
| Colour | YellowB−V colour index 0.55 |
| Magnitude | 6.3The smaller the number, the brighter. |
| Distance | 90 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1936. |
| Proper motion | 0.15″ per year across the sky |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 15m 33.2s |
| Declination (J2000) | −24° 10′ 46″ |
Sources and credits
Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →