HR 2881 (HIP 36514)

HR 2881 is a yellow supergiant star in the constellation Puppis. At 1,359 light years away, it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 4.65. It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 28.6 km/s relative to the Sun.

Sky position: RA 7h 30.7m, Dec -30° 57.7'

Common designations: HR 2881, HD 59890, HIP 36514, Gaia DR3 5593345912571693824

HR 2881 has the spectral type G2Iab/b. G-type stars are yellow stars of about 5,300 to 6,000 K, the same class as the Sun. Their spectra show strong lines of ionized calcium and many metals. Its luminosity class I marks it as a supergiant, among the most luminous and largest stars known.

How to find HR 2881 in the sky

HR 2881 lies in Puppis. With a declination of -30° 57.7', it is visible from the entire Southern Hemisphere and from the Northern Hemisphere up to about latitude 59° N. Observers poleward of latitude 59° S see it as circumpolar: it never sets. It is bright enough to see with the naked eye under dark skies. It is highest in the sky at local midnight around February, which makes the weeks around that month the best time to observe it.

Tabulated data for HR 2881

Astrometry and spectroscopy

Right Ascension (J2000)	112.67750823° (7h 30.7m)
Declination (J2000)	-30.96228054° (-30° 57.7')
Galactic Longitude	244.76426681°
Galactic Latitude	-5.99583595°
Proper motion RA	-11.97 mas/yr
Proper motion Dec	1.05 mas/yr
Parallax	2.40 ± 0.09 mas
Spectral Type	G2Iab/b
Radial Velocity	15.87 km/s

Photometry

Band	Magnitude	Abs. Mag.
U	6.21	-1.89
B	5.58	-2.52
V	4.65	-3.45
R	3.98	-4.12
I	3.51	-4.59
J	3.22	-4.88
H	2.87	-5.23
K	2.76	-5.34

Colour index B-V: +0.93

Derivations

Heliocentric distance: 416.68 pc (1,359 light years) (3.7% margin of error)
Absolute visual magnitude: -3.45
Transverse velocity: 23.7 km/s
Space velocity relative to the Sun: 28.6 km/s
Galactic position (X, Y, Z): -176.7 pc, -374.9 pc, -43.5 pc
Galactic velocity (U, V, W): -17.6 km/s, -6.9 km/s, -21.4 km/s

Data: Extended Hipparcos Compilation (XHIP) and SIMBAD.