a Carinae, a blue main-sequence star in Carina
a Carinae is a blue main-sequence star in the constellation Carina. At 445 light years away, it is the 268th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.43.
a Carinae (HIP 45080)
a Carinae is a blue main-sequence star in the constellation Carina. At 445 light years away, it is the 268th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 3.43. It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 26.6 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 19,700 and 24,200 light years from the center of the Galaxy. It came closest to the Sun 4.4 million years ago when it had brightened to magnitude 1.85 from a distance of 215 light years.
Sky position: RA 9h 11.0m, Dec -58° 58.2'
Common designations: a Carinae, HIP 45080, HD 79351
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Brightest stars in Carina:
(list all)
1
| -0.62
) Canopus
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 2 | 1.67 | Miaplacidus |
| 3 | 1.86 | Avior |
| 4 | 2.21 | Tureis |
| 5 | 2.74 | Theta Carinae |
| 6 | 2.92 | Upsilon Carinae |
| 7 | 3.29 | Omega Carinae |
| 8 | 3.30 | p Carinae |
| 9 | 3.39 | q Carinae |
10
| 3.43
) a Carinae
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 11 | 3.46 | chi Carinae |
| 12 | 3.69 | l Carinae |
| 13 | 3.78 | u Carinae |
| 14 | 3.81 | s Carinae |
| 15 | 3.84 | c Carinae |
| 16 | 3.93 | x Carinae |
| 17 | 3.96 | i Carinae |
Galactic Orbit of a Carinae
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 10.3% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : 160.0°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 6,741 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 6,705 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 693 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 6,670 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 6,048 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 7,434 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for a Carinae
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 137.74210507° ±0.30 mas | -13.40 ±0.90 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | -58.96693013° ±0.31 mas | 14.70 ±1.00 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 277.69070541° | -19.89 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | -7.37264222° | 0.08 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 7.30 ± 0.35 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: B2.5V 1982ApJS...50...55S.
Radial Velocity:
23.30 ±4.00 km/s [D rating]
2006AstL...32..759G.
This star is a spectroscopic binary with an unsolved orbit.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
n/a
Photometry
band
magnitude
Abs. Mag.
U
2.56
-3.12
B
3.24
-2.44
V
3.43
-2.25
R
I
3.57
-2.11
J
3.70
-1.98
H
3.77
-1.91
K
3.95
-1.73
B-V: -0.19 V-I: -0.14
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 136.61 pc (4.8% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,383 pc
Transverse velocity: 12.9 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | 18.1 pc | -134.3 pc | -17.5 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -9.7 km/s | -24.6 km/s | -2.9 km/s |