- Stars with a name
- Copernicus
Copernicus
ρ¹ Cancri
Copernicus is a yellow star like the Sun, in the constellation Cancer. The light you see from it tonight left it around 1986.
Where to find it
From mid-northern latitudes, such as New York, Rome or Tokyo, it is best seen in the evening sky in January, February, March, April, May, and December.
Visible to the naked eye only under a dark sky, away from town. Apparent magnitude 5.96.
What it’s like
It gives off about 55% of the Sun’s light.
Its surface temperature is about 4,800 degrees Celsius.
It is 40.3 light years away: 381 trillion kilometres.
It is the star of people born around 1986: the light that left it then is reaching Earth now.