SkyRef / Stars

Altair

Magnitude 0.77, white. A first-magnitude star, among the brightest few dozen visible.

The numbers

Magnitude0.77
Colourwhite
Right ascension19.846h
Declination+8.87°
B−V index0.22
CatalogueHR 7557

What you are looking at

Altair shines at magnitude 0.77, making it a first-magnitude star, among the brightest few dozen visible. Its B−V colour index of 0.22 makes it white to the eye, corresponding to a surface temperature of around 8,000 K.

It sits at right ascension 19.85 hours and declination +8.9°. It straddles the celestial equator, so it is visible from essentially anywhere on Earth at the right time of year.

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Other named stars

SiriusCanopusArcturusRigil KentaurusVegaCapellaRigelProcyonAchernarBetelgeuseHadarAltairAldebaranAntaresSpicaPolluxFomalhautMimosaDenebAcruxRegulusAdharaElnathAlphardAlnilamDenebolaCastorAlgolDubheKaus AustralisAlkaidPolarisAlnitakCaphMirachBellatrix