- Stars with a name
- Wazn
Wazn
β Columbae
Wazn is an orange giant, in the constellation Columba. The light you see from it tonight left it around 1939.
Where to find it
From mid-northern latitudes, such as New York, Rome or Tokyo, it only ever stays low over the southern horizon.
Visible to the naked eye away from the brightest lights. Apparent magnitude 3.12.
What it’s like
It gives off 35 times as much light as the Sun.
Its surface is at about 4,400 degrees.
It is 87.2 light years away: 825 trillion kilometres.
It is the star of people born around 1939: the light that left it then is reaching Earth now.