- Stars with a name
- Kaus Borealis
Kaus Borealis
λ Sagittarii
Kaus Borealis is an orange giant, in the constellation Sagittarius. The light you see from it tonight left it around 1948.
Where to find it
Visible to the naked eye away from the brightest lights. Apparent magnitude 2.82.
What it’s like
It gives off 37 times as much light as the Sun.
Its surface is at about 4,700 degrees.
It is 78.2 light years away: 740 trillion kilometres.
It is the star of people born around 1948: the light that left it then is reaching Earth now.