Algieba is a famous double star in the Sickle of Leo, a pair of giant stars that a small telescope splits into two golden points.
At a glance
| type | orange giant (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 130 light-years (39.9 pc) |
| its light left it | 130 years ago |
| luminosity | 275 × the Sun |
| radius | 20.8 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 5,150 K |
| constellation | Leo (Lion) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Algieba
The card describes a giant star, much wider and more luminous than the Sun and cooler at the surface, hence its orange colour. Its companion is another giant, a little fainter and slightly warmer, and the two orbit each other slowly, far apart.
To the eye they merge into one star; a modest telescope shows both, close together and both golden in colour, one of the classic sights of the northern spring sky.
The name derives from the Arabic for the forehead, an old name for this part of the lion that settled on this star. Algieba sits in the Sickle, the hook of stars marking the lion’s mane, between Regulus and Adhafera.
What you see in the piece
In the piece the pair is drawn at its true distance; fly close and the two giants appear as separate stars of similar warm colour.
Questions
Is Algieba a double star?
Yes. It is a pair of giant stars orbiting each other, too close for the eye to split but easy in a small telescope.
How far away is Algieba?
Algieba is 130 light-years (39.9 pc) from the Sun; its light left it 130 years ago.