- Stars with a name
- Gacrux
Gacrux
γ Crucis
Gacrux is a red giant, in the constellation Crux. The light you see from it tonight left it around 1937.
Where to find it
From mid-northern latitudes, such as New York, Rome or Tokyo, it never rises: it belongs to the southern sky.
Bright enough to see even from a city. Apparent magnitude 1.59.
What it’s like
It gives off 148 times as much light as the Sun.
Its surface is at about 3,600 degrees.
It is 88.6 light years away: 838 trillion kilometres.
It is the star of people born around 1937: the light that left it then is reaching Earth now.