- Stars with a name
- Ankaa
Ankaa
α Phoenicis
Ankaa is an orange giant, in the constellation Phoenix. The light you see from it tonight left it around 1941.
Where to find it
From mid-northern latitudes, such as New York, Rome or Tokyo, it only ever stays low over the southern horizon.
Bright enough to see even from a city. Apparent magnitude 2.40.
What it’s like
It gives off 64 times as much light as the Sun.
Its surface temperature is about 4,300 degrees Celsius.
It is 84.7 light years away: 802 trillion kilometres.
It is the star of people born around 1941: the light that left it then is reaching Earth now.