Star
An orange giant binary and the brightest star of the Phoenix constellation.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Distance from Earth | 84.7 ly |
| Diameter | 18,088,200 km |
| Mass | 4.97 × 10³⁰ kg |
| Temperature | 4,527°C |
| Apparent magnitude | 2.38 |
| Redshift | 0 |
| Hemisphere | Southern |
| Discovered | 1597 |
Stars spend most of their lives fusing hydrogen into helium in their core, and it's the balance between that outward pressure and gravity pulling inward that fixes how big and how bright a star gets.
At 18,088,200 km across, Ankaa is 13 times the diameter of the Sun.
Its mass is 2.5 times the mass of the Sun.
The light reaching us from Ankaa tonight left it around 85 years ago.
Its surface sits at 4,800 K, cooler than the Sun at 5,772 K, which is what sets its colour.
It has been on record since 1597.
Play today's Cosmodle