Cursa is a white star beside Rigel at the head of Eridanus, the River, its name an Arabic word for the footstool on which Orion rests his foot.
At a glance
| type | white star (class A) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 89.4 light-years (27.4 pc) |
| its light left it | 89.4 years ago |
| luminosity | 56.8 × the Sun |
| radius | 3.3 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 8,720 K |
| constellation | Eridanus (River) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Cursa
Cursa is a white star, hotter and larger than the Sun and much brighter, which has begun to leave the main stage of its life. It is the brightest star of the northern end of Eridanus, a long faint constellation that winds south from Orion’s foot.
The name comes from an Arabic phrase meaning the footstool, a group of stars imagined under Orion’s foot, with Rigel the foot itself. The River runs from here a long way south to Achernar.
What you see in the piece
From Earth Cursa sits just beside Rigel; in the piece Rigel is far more distant, so flying out separates the footstool from the foot almost at once.
Questions
What does Cursa mean?
Cursa comes from Arabic for the footstool, the stars under Orion’s foot, Rigel.