Yellow giant · Leo Minor
β Leonis Minoris
Also known as: β LMi, HIP 51233
mag 4.2150 light-years
About
β Leonis Minoris is a yellow giant of magnitude 4.2 in Leo Minor, about 150 light-years away.
How to find it
- β Leonis Minoris is in the constellation Leo Minor.
- Best evenings: around mid-April 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 43° 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.
What you will see
- 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.
Facts
| Designation | β Leonis Minoris (β LMi) |
|---|---|
| Hipparcos number | HIP 51233 |
| Type | Yellow giant |
| Spectral type | G8III-IV |
| Colour | Pale orangeB−V colour index 0.91 |
| Magnitude | 4.2The smaller the number, the brighter. |
| Distance | 150 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1870. |
| Proper motion | 0.17″ per year across the sky |
| Constellation | Leo Minor |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 10h 27m 53.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | +36° 42′ 26″ |
Sources and credits
Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →