Yellow star · Carina
η Carinae
Also known as: η Car
mag 4.37,500 light-years
About
η Carinae is a yellow star of magnitude 4.3 in Carina, about 7,500 light-years away.
How to find it
- η Carinae is in the constellation Carina.
- 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 south of 20° 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
- 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 | η Carinae (η Car) |
|---|---|
| Type | Yellow star |
| Spectral type | pec |
| Colour | YellowB−V colour index 0.60 |
| Magnitude | 4.3The smaller the number, the brighter. |
| Distance | 7,500 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 5,500 BC. Distances this large are uncertain by 10% or more. |
| Proper motion | 0.006″ per year across the sky |
| Constellation | Carina |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 10h 45m 03.6s |
| Declination (J2000) | −59° 41′ 03″ |
Sources and credits
Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →