Alphard
Where is Alphard?
Low in the southeast, at most 9° up around 05:17 in Hydra.
- Rises
- 04:11
- Highest
- 09:29
- Sets
- 14:51
- Best after dark
- 05:17 · 9°
Can I see Alphard tonight?
From London tonight, Alphard stays low while the sky is dark: at best 9° above the southeast horizon around 05:17. You’ll need a clear, flat view in that direction.
At magnitude 2.0 it is one of the brighter points in the sky, easy to see by eye when it’s clear.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does Alphard look like?
Alphard looks orange-red to the eye. Its spectral type is K3II/IIIBa1:: orange bright giant (cooler than the Sun).
Eyes
An orange star, alone in a dim region south of Leo.
Binoculars
A bright orange point.
Telescope
A single orange point.
About Alphard
Alphard is the brightest star in Hydra, the Water Snake, the largest constellation in the sky. Its name comes from the Arabic for “the solitary one”, because it sits alone in a large area without other bright stars.
It is an orange giant about 180 light-years away.
Alphard is about three times the mass of the Sun and some 50 times wider. Tycho Brahe called it Cor Hydrae, the heart of the snake.
Hydra is the largest of the 88 constellations, stretching more than 100° across the sky from Cancer to Libra. Its head is a small group of stars south of Cancer, and Alphard marks its heart.
Because so few bright stars surround it, Alphard is easy to identify once you know roughly where to look. Its orange color is noticeable even to the naked eye.
Like Arcturus and Aldebaran, Alphard is an evolved star that has run out of hydrogen in its core and swollen into a giant.
Alphard in Hydra
Questions
Why is Alphard called the solitary one?
Sources: SkyMate; Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences