Hadar
Where is Hadar?
Below the horizon from London all the time in Centaurus.
- Rises
- Never
- Highest
- —
- Sets
- —
- Best after dark
- —
Can I see Hadar tonight?
Hadar never rises from London: it is too far south in the sky for this latitude.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does Hadar look like?
Hadar looks blue-white to the eye. Its spectral type is B1III: hot blue-white giant (much hotter than the Sun).
Eyes
A bright blue-white star beside Alpha Centauri.
Binoculars
Hadar, Alpha Centauri and the Southern Cross fit in a rich field of Milky Way stars.
Telescope
A bright point. Its closest companion is a difficult test for large telescopes.
About Hadar
Hadar, also called Beta Centauri, is one of the two Pointers that lead to the Southern Cross. Next to Alpha Centauri it looks like a close companion, but it is far more distant, about 390 light-years away.
It is a system of hot blue-white stars, thousands of times more luminous than the Sun, and it is the tenth-brightest star in the night sky.
Hadar is a triple star system. Its two brightest members are nearly identical blue giants in a close orbit, with a fainter third star farther out.
Hadar and Alpha Centauri are a southern observer’s guide to the south celestial pole: draw a line at right angles from the midpoint of the Pointers, and where it meets the line extended along the long axis of the Southern Cross is close to the pole.
Its light takes centuries to reach us, so you see Hadar as it was hundreds of years ago, while Alpha Centauri, right beside it, is seen as it was just over four years ago.
Hadar in Centaurus
Questions
Are Hadar and Alpha Centauri related?
Sources: SkyMate; Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences