HIP 54966 The Sun

Surface temperature: 4,050 K
Radius: 0.27 × the Sun
Luminosity: 0.018 × the Sun
Spectral type: K7V

Diagram, not a photograph. Colour from the star’s measured colour index; size from its luminosity and temperature, drawn to one scale with the Sun. Source: HYG stellar database.

Cataloged star · Database record + computed analysis

HIP 54966

A real star from the HYG catalog in the constellation Crater.

46.5 light-years away Apparent magnitude 9.97

K-type: orange and patient

Its spectral type is K7V: cooler and longer-lived than the Sun, and often considered prime habitable-zone hosts. From its measured color, its surface temperature is roughly 4,051 K (3,778 °C), an estimate computed from the catalog's color index.

How far away is it?

It lies 46.5 light-years away (14.26 parsecs, from its measured parallax), within the Sun's wider neighborhood; its light is only 46.5 years old when it reaches your eye.

How powerful is it?

Its computed luminosity is only 0.0182 of the Sun's output, a modest lamp by stellar standards (derived from its brightness and distance).

Can you see it?

At apparent magnitude 9.97, it is a telescope target only. It is visible from both hemispheres.

Not alone

The catalog records this star as a member of a multiple-star system: two or more suns bound in orbit around each other, a configuration roughly half of Sun-like stars share.

Everything above is computed from the catalog’s measured values for this star. Where a value is missing, the statement is omitted rather than guessed.

Companions in this system

hip-54963 magnitude 10.02 hyg-118738 magnitude 13.64

About this record

Data: the HYG stellar database v4.1 (Hipparcos + Yale + Gliese, CC BY-SA, © David Nash / astronexus). Want the full stories? Our deep star guides cover Sirius, Betelgeuse, Proxima Centauri, Vega and three dozen more. You can also browse the catalog or learn how stars live and die.