Upsilon Carinae, a white supergiant star in Carina
Upsilon Carinae is a white supergiant star in the constellation Carina. At 1,410 light years away, it is the 161st brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 2.92.
Upsilon Carinae (HIP 48002)
Upsilon Carinae is a white supergiant star in the constellation Carina. At 1,410 light years away, it is the 161st brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 2.92. Upsilon Carinae is a multiple-star system. It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 27.5 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 21,500 and 24,000 light years from the center of the Galaxy.
Sky position: RA 9h 47.1m, Dec -65° 4.2'
Common designations: Upsilon Carinae, HIP 48002, HD 85123
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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
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 7 | 3.29 | Omega Carinae |
| 8 | 3.30 | p Carinae |
| 9 | 3.39 | q Carinae |
| 10 | 3.43 | a Carinae |
| 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 Upsilon Carinae
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 5.6% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : 148.2°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 6,975 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 6,964 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 390 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 6,953 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 6,585 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 7,365 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Upsilon Carinae
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 146.77557344° ±0.26 mas | -10.40 ±0.90 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | -65.07201887° ±0.24 mas | 5.20 ±0.80 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 285.03847074° | -11.29 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | -8.81966182° | -2.79 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 2.27 ± 0.28 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: A8 IB 1975MSS...C01....0H.
Radial Velocity: 13.60 ±0.50 km/s [A rating] 2006AstL...32..759G.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
n/a
Photometry
band
magnitude
Abs. Mag.
U
B
3.19
-4.99
V
2.92
-5.26
R
I
2.55
-5.64
J
H
K
B-V: +0.27 V-I: +0.37
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 432.63 pc (12.3% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,301 pc
Transverse velocity: 23.8 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | 110.9 pc | -412.9 pc | -66.3 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -19.1 km/s | -18.1 km/s | -7.7 km/s |