Adhafera is a yellow-white giant in the Sickle of Leo, named from the Arabic for a curl or braid, a lock of the lion’s mane.
At a glance
| type | yellow-white giant (class F) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 274 light-years (84 pc) |
| its light left it | 274 years ago |
| luminosity | 265 × the Sun |
| radius | 10.2 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 7,300 K |
| constellation | Leo (Lion) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Adhafera
The card describes a giant star, wider and much more luminous than the Sun and somewhat hotter at the surface, so its light is yellow-white.
The name comes from the Arabic for a curl or plait of hair, suiting its place in the lion’s mane. It sits in the Sickle between Algieba and Rasalas. A fainter star nearby on the sky is only a line-of-sight companion, not bound to it.
What you see in the piece
In the piece Adhafera lies further away than its neighbours in the Sickle; flown past, the curl of the mane straightens out into stars at many depths.
Questions
What does Adhafera mean?
It comes from an Arabic word for a curl or braid of hair, a lock of the lion’s mane.