- Stars with a name
- Menkent
Menkent
θ Centauri
Menkent is an orange giant, in the constellation Centaurus. The light you see from it tonight left it around 1967.
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 2.06.
What it’s like
It gives off 42 times as much light as the Sun.
Its surface is at about 4,700 degrees.
It is 58.8 light years away: 556 trillion kilometres.
It is the star of people born around 1967: the light that left it then is reaching Earth now.