- 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 is at about 4,600 degrees.
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.