Yellow supergiant · Gemini

Mekbuda

Also known as: ζ Geminorum (ζ Gem), HIP 34088

mag 4.01,400 light-years

About

Mekbuda (ζ Geminorum) is a yellow supergiant of magnitude 4.0 in Gemini, about 1,400 light-years away.

Mekbuda is in the constellation Gemini.
Best evenings: around late February 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 59° 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	Mekbuda
Designation	ζ Geminorum (ζ Gem)
Hipparcos number	HIP 34088
Type	Yellow supergiant
Spectral type	G3Ibv SB
Colour	Pale orangeB−V colour index 0.90
Magnitude	4.0The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	1,400 light-yearsThe light you see left it around AD 700. Distances this large are uncertain by 10% or more.
Proper motion	0.006″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Gemini
Right ascension (J2000)	07h 04m 06.5s
Declination (J2000)	+20° 34′ 13″