Star
An orange giant and the brightest star in Octans, the constellation containing the south celestial pole.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Distance from Earth | 63.3 ly |
| Diameter | 8,216,810 km |
| Mass | 3.18 × 10³⁰ kg |
| Temperature | 4,587°C |
| Apparent magnitude | 3.73 |
| Redshift | 0 |
| Hemisphere | Southern |
| Discovered | 1752 |
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 8,216,810 km across, Nu Octantis is 5.9 times the diameter of the Sun.
Its mass is 1.6 times the mass of the Sun.
The light reaching us from Nu Octantis tonight left it around 63 years ago.
Its surface sits at 4,860 K, cooler than the Sun at 5,772 K, which is what sets its colour.
It has been on record since 1752.
Play today's Cosmodle