Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 5, 2026

D Centauri

D Centauri is a double star in the southern constellation of Centaurus. The system is faintly visible to the naked eye as a point of light with a combined apparent magnitude of +5.31; the two components are of magnitude 5.78 and 6.98, respectively. It is located at a distance of approximately 610 light years from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of ~10 km/s.

Last revised
Jun 5, 2026
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D Centauri
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation Centaurus1
Right ascension 12h 14m 02.697s2
Declination −45° 43′ 26.10″2
Apparent magnitude (V) +5.311 (5.78 + 6.98)3
Characteristics
Spectral type K3III4 (K4IIIab + K2IIIb)5
U−B color index +1.82/1.195
B−V color index +1.400±0.0031/1.215
Astrometry
A
Radial velocity (Rv)+10.27±0.686 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: −37.1866 mas/yr
Dec.: 6.6066 mas/yr
Parallax (π)5.3350±0.1399 mas6
Distance610 ± 20 ly
(187 ± 5 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)−0.881
B
Proper motion (μ) RA: −33.6047 mas/yr
Dec.: 5.4347 mas/yr
Parallax (π)4.9297±0.0550 mas7
Distance662 ± 7 ly
(203 ± 2 pc)
Details
A
Radius42.8+1.1
−2.136 R☉
Luminosity434±136 L☉
Temperature4,026+104
−506 K
B
Radius13.5+1.7
−1.97 R☉
Luminosity90.5±1.47 L☉
Temperature4,853+275
−3927 K
Other designations
D Cen, CD−45°7630, GC 16703, HD 106321, HIP 59654, HR 4652, SAO 223297, CCDM J12140-45438
Database references
SIMBADdata

D Centauri is a double star in the southern constellation of Centaurus.8 The system is faintly visible to the naked eye as a point of light with a combined apparent magnitude of +5.31;1 the two components are of magnitude 5.78 and 6.98, respectively.3 It is located at a distance of approximately 610 light years from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting further away with a radial velocity of ~10 km/s.6

The dual nature of this star was announced by C. Rumker in 1837. As of 2015, the pair had an angular separation of 2.70″ along a position angle of 242°.3 This orange-hued double has a combined stellar classification of K3III,4 matching an aging giant star that has exhausted the supply of hydrogen at its core. In 1984, C. J. Corbally found a class of K4IIIab for the primary and K2IIIb for the fainter secondary.5

References

References

  1. Anderson, E.; Francis, Ch. (2012). "XHIP: An extended hipparcos compilation". Astronomy Letters. 38 (5): 331. arXiv:1108.4971. Bibcode:2012AstL...38..331A. doi:10.1134/S1063773712050015. XHIP record for this object at VizieR.
  2. van Leeuwen, F. (2007). "Validation of the new Hipparcos reduction". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 474 (2): 653–664. arXiv:0708.1752. Bibcode:2007A&A...474..653V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20078357. S2CID 18759600. Vizier catalog entry
  3. Mason, B. D.; et al. (2014). "The Washington Visual Double Star Catalog". The Astronomical Journal. 122: 3466–3471. Bibcode:2001AJ....122.3466M. doi:10.1086/323920.
  4. Houk, N. (1978). Michigan catalogue of two-dimensional spectral types for the HD stars. Vol. 2. Dept. of Astronomy, University of Michigan. Bibcode:1978mcts.book.....H.
  5. Corbally, C. J. (1984). "Close visual binaries. I - MK classifications". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 55: 657. Bibcode:1984ApJS...55..657C. doi:10.1086/190973.
  6. Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (August 2018). "Gaia Data Release 2: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 616. A1. arXiv:1804.09365. Bibcode:2018A&A...616A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833051. Gaia DR2 record for this source at VizieR.
  7. Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (August 2018). "Gaia Data Release 2: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 616. A1. arXiv:1804.09365. Bibcode:2018A&A...616A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833051. Gaia DR2 record for this source at VizieR.
  8. "D Cen". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2021-01-28.