Star
Miaplacidus
White star · A2IV
β Carinae · Carina
Shown in its true colour — like most stars, it is too far away to photograph as more than a point of light.
Beta Carinae is the second-brightest star in the southern constellation of Carina. It has the official name Miaplacidus; Beta Carinae is the star's Bayer designation, which is Latinised from β Carinae and abbreviated Beta Car or β Car. With apparent magnitude of 1.69, it is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It is the brightest star in the southern asterism known as the Diamond Cross, marking the southwestern end of the asterism. It lies near the planetary nebula IC 2448. Parallax measurements place it at a distance of 113.2 light-years from the Sun.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
In your sky
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Key facts
Distance
~113 light-years
Apparent mag.
+1.67
Spectral type
A2IV
Luminosity
225 × Sun
Absolute mag.
−1.03
Catalogue
HIP 45238
Spectral type
A2IV
True colour from its B–V index (0.07): a surface around 9300 K.
Did you know
- Miaplacidus is also known as β Carinae.
- Its spectral type A2IV marks it as a white star.
- It lies in the constellation Carina.
