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Beta Centauri
Sign in to saveAlso known as HR 5267, HIP 68702, HIC 68702, HD 122451, Agena, Hadar, β Cen, β Centauri
star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus
Beta Centauri is a bright star system located in the Centaurus constellation in the southern sky. It is one of the notable stars in that region and serves as an important reference point for observers studying the southern celestial sphere.
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Encyclopedic overview
Beta Centauri is a triple star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus. It is officially called Hadar (/ˈheɪdɑːr/). The Bayer designation of Beta Centauri is Latinised from β Centauri, and abbreviated Beta Cen or β Cen. The system's combined apparent visual magnitude of 0.61 makes it the second-brightest object in Centaurus and the eleventh brightest star in the night sky. According to dynamical parallax measurements, the distance to this system is about 361 light-years (111 parsecs).
Nomenclature
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Beta Centauri” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.