Delta Centauri, a blue main-sequence star in Centaurus
Delta Centauri is a blue main-sequence star in the constellation Centaurus. At 413 light years away, it is the 100th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 2.58.
Delta Centauri (HIP 59196)
Delta Centauri is a blue main-sequence star in the constellation Centaurus. At 413 light years away, it is the 100th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 2.58. Delta Centauri is the primary component of a multiple-star system. It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 24.2 km/s relative to the Sun and is part of the Lower Centaurus Crux moving group. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 21,300 and 24,000 light years from the center of the Galaxy.
Sky position: RA 12h 8.4m, Dec -50° 43.2'
Common designations: Delta Centauri, HIP 59196, HD 105435
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Brightest stars in Centaurus:
(list all)
1
| -0.01
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 2 | 0.61 | Hadar |
| 3 | 1.35 | Alpha Centauri B |
| 4 | 2.06 | Menkent |
| 5 | 2.20 | Gamma Centauri |
| 6 | 2.29 | Epsilon Centauri |
| 7 | 2.33 | Eta Centauri |
| 8 | 2.55 | Zeta Centauri |
9
| 2.58
) Delta Centauri
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 10 | 2.75 | Iota Centauri |
| 11 | 3.11 | Lambda Centauri |
| 12 | 3.13 | Kappa Centauri |
| 13 | 3.41 | Nu Centauri |
| 14 | 3.47 | Mu Centauri |
| 15 | 3.83 | Phi Centauri |
| 16 | 3.85 | Tau Centauri |
| 17 | 3.87 | Upsilon-1 Centauri |
Galactic Orbit of Delta Centauri
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 6.1% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : 161.0°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 6,947 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 6,934 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 426 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 6,921 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 6,521 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 7,372 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Delta Centauri
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 182.08976522° ±0.25 mas | -35.10 ±0.80 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | -50.72240992° ±0.30 mas | -7.50 ±0.80 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 295.99646133° | -33.32 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | 11.56832203° | -13.35 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 7.86 ± 0.47 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: B2Vne 2006MNRAS.371..252L.
Radial Velocity: 11.00 ±4.00 km/s [A rating] 2006AstL...32..759G.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
n/a
Photometry
band
magnitude
Abs. Mag.
U
1.58
-3.94
B
2.45
-3.06
V
2.58
-2.94
R
I
2.67
-2.84
J
2.79
-2.73
H
2.81
-2.71
K
2.67
-2.85
B-V: -0.13 V-I: -0.09
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 126.78 pc (fitted to cluster)
Galactocentric distance: 7,346 pc
Transverse velocity: 21.6 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | 54.4 pc | -111.6 pc | 25.4 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -12.6 km/s | -19.9 km/s | -5.7 km/s |