Gacrux

Gacrux is the third-brightest star in the southern constellation of Crux, the Southern Cross. It has the Bayer designation Gamma Crucis, which is Latinised from γ Crucis and abbreviated Gamma Cru or γ Cru. With an apparent visual magnitude of +1.63, it is the 26th brightest star in the night sky. A line from the two "Pointers", Alpha Centauri through Beta Centauri, leads to within 1° north of this star. Using parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos mission, it is located at a distance of 88.6 light-years (27.2 parsecs) from the Sun. It is the nearest M-type red giant star to the Sun.

γ Crucis
Location of Gacrux, γ Crucis (circled)
Observation data
Epoch J2000.0      Equinox J2000.0
Constellation Crux
Right ascension 12h 31m 09.960s
Declination −57° 06 47.568
Apparent magnitude (V) +1.64
Characteristics
Spectral type M3.5 III
Apparent magnitude (J) −1.99
U−B color index +1.78
B−V color index +1.59
Variable type SRV
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)+20.6 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: +28.23 mas/yr
Dec.: −265.08 mas/yr
Parallax (π)36.83 ± 0.18 mas
Distance88.6 ± 0.4 ly
(27.2 ± 0.1 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)−0.52
Details
Mass1.5±0.3 M
Radius120 R
Luminosity758 L
Temperature3,689 K
Other designations
Gacrux, γ Crucis, CD−56 4504, HD 108903, HIP 61084, HR 4763, SAO 240019, LTT 4752
Database references
SIMBADdata
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