giant · M3.5III
Gacrux
Gacrux is a red giant (spectral type M3.5III) about 88 light-years away. With an apparent magnitude of 1.59 it is a very bright, conspicuous star.
A red giant at the top of the Southern Cross – the nearest red giant to the Sun.
Its light output is roughly 140 times that of the Sun (a rough estimate in visible light, calculated from brightness and distance).
It is never visible from Germany, as it lies too far south.
Key facts
- Distance
- ≈ 88 light-years
- Spectral type
- M3.5III (giant)
- Colour
- Red
- Apparent magnitude
- 1.59 mag
- Luminosity
- ≈ 140 × Sun
- Position
- Right ascension 12h 31m, declination -57.1°
More well-known stars
Data: Hipparcos / HYG catalogue (CC BY-SA 4.0). Luminosity and visibility are calculated estimates.