- 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 temperature is about 4,400 degrees Celsius.
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.