- Stars with a name
- Chara
Chara
β Canum Venaticorum
Chara is a yellow star like the Sun, in the constellation Canes Venatici. The light you see from it tonight left it around 1998.
Where to find it
From mid-northern latitudes, such as New York, Rome or Tokyo, it is best seen in the evening sky in February, March, April, May, June, and July.
Visible to the naked eye away from the brightest lights. Apparent magnitude 4.24.
What it’s like
It gives off about as much light as the Sun.
Its surface is at about 6,000 degrees.
It is 27.5 light years away: 260 trillion kilometres.
It is the star of people born around 1998: the light that left it then is reaching Earth now.