d Scorpii, a white main-sequence star in Scorpius
d Scorpii is a white main-sequence star in the constellation Scorpius. At 139 light years away, it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 4.78.
d Scorpii (HIP 79881)
d Scorpii is a white main-sequence star in the constellation Scorpius. At 139 light years away, it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 4.78. It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 25.8 km/s relative to the Sun.
Sky position: RA 16h 18.3m, Dec -28° 36.8'
Common designations: d Scorpii, HR 6070, HD 146624, Gaia DR3 6039093149153220480, HIP 79881
d Scorpii has the spectral type A1Va. A-type stars are white stars with surface temperatures of roughly 7,500 to 10,000 K. Their spectra are dominated by strong hydrogen lines, and many of them rotate rapidly. Its luminosity class V means it is a main-sequence (dwarf) star, still fusing hydrogen into helium in its core like the Sun.
How to find d Scorpii in the sky
d Scorpii lies in Scorpius. With a declination of -28° 36.8', it is visible from the entire Southern Hemisphere and from the Northern Hemisphere up to about latitude 61° N. It is bright enough to see with the naked eye under dark skies. It is highest in the sky at local midnight around June, which makes the weeks around that month the best time to observe it.
Tabulated data for d Scorpii
Astrometry and spectroscopy
| Right Ascension (J2000) | 244.57457983° (16h 18.3m) |
| Declination (J2000) | -28.61402000° (-28° 36.8') |
| Galactic Longitude | 348.55559854° |
| Galactic Latitude | 15.40806969° |
| Proper motion RA | -32.17 mas/yr |
| Proper motion Dec | -101.31 mas/yr |
| Parallax | 23.54 ± 0.15 mas |
| Spectral Type | A1Va |
| Radial Velocity | -14.43 km/s |
Photometry
| Band | Magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
|---|---|---|
| B | 4.80 | 1.66 |
| V | 4.78 | 1.64 |
| J | 4.86 | 1.71 |
| H | 4.94 | 1.80 |
| K | 4.74 | 1.60 |
Colour index B-V: +0.02
Derivations
- Heliocentric distance: 42.48 pc (139 light years) (0.6% margin of error)
- Absolute visual magnitude: 1.64
- Transverse velocity: 21.4 km/s
- Space velocity relative to the Sun: 25.8 km/s
- Galactic position (X, Y, Z): 40.1 pc, -8.1 pc, 11.3 pc
- Galactic velocity (U, V, W): -15.0 km/s, -16.6 km/s, -12.9 km/s
Data: Extended Hipparcos Compilation (XHIP) and SIMBAD.