Alphard
Orange giant · Alpha Hydrae
Brightest star in Hydra, the largest constellation
The solitary bright heart of Hydra, the sky's largest constellation, Alphard is an aging orange giant whose name means "the solitary one" for its isolation in a dim region of sky. It shows mild brightness variability and barium enrichment in its atmosphere.
Illustration generated from temperature, not a photograph
3.2 ☉
mass (the Sun = 1)
971 ×
as bright as the Sun
4,095 K
surface · orange
58 R☉
radius (the Sun = 1)
177 ly
from Earth
2.0
apparent magnitude
Visible to the naked eyeno equipment needed · apparent magnitude 2.0
It pours out about 971 times the Sun’s light. Its light has been travelling 177 years to reach us, so you see Alphard as it was 177 years ago.
Source · Wikidata
It lives in
Milky Way
Barred spiral galaxy.
Other notable stars in the Milky Way
Eta CarinaeLuminous blue variableAlnilamBlue supergiantVY Canis MajorisRed hypergiantAlnitakHot blue supergiantDenebBlue-white supergiantMintakaHot blue giant multiple star
Stars of similar brightness
AchernarBlue-white main-sequence star1,076 ×PolarisYellow supergiant Cepheid variable1,259 ×AlbireoOrange bright giant1,259 ×AldebaranOrange giant439 ×RegulusBlue-white main-sequence star341 ×ArcturusOrange giant215 ×
Worlds in the same direction on the sky→