Star
An orange giant and the brightest star in Leo Minor, whose name means the chief one.
| Type | Star |
|---|---|
| Distance from Earth | 98 ly |
| Diameter | 11,447,800 km |
| Mass | 3.36 × 10³⁰ kg |
| Temperature | 4,397°C |
| Apparent magnitude | 3.83 |
| Redshift | 0 |
| Hemisphere | Northern |
| Discovered | 1687 |
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 11,447,800 km across, Praecipua is 8.2 times the diameter of the Sun.
Its mass is 1.7 times the mass of the Sun.
The light reaching us from Praecipua tonight left it around 98 years ago.
Its surface sits at 4,670 K, cooler than the Sun at 5,772 K, which is what sets its colour.
It has been on record since 1687.
Play today's Cosmodle