Imai is a hot blue-white star in the Southern Cross, the faintest of its four main stars, marking one end of the shorter arm.
At a glance
| type | blue-white star (class B) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 345 light-years (106 pc) |
| its light left it | 345 years ago |
| luminosity | 5,230 × the Sun |
| radius | 4.98 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 22,000 K |
| constellation | Crux (Southern Cross) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Imai
The facts describe a young, massive star, hot enough to shine blue-white and vastly more powerful than the Sun, though not much wider.
The Cross is the smallest constellation but one of the most recognisable. Its long bar runs from Gacrux to Acrux and points towards the south celestial pole; the short bar joins Imai to Beta Crucis. The name Imai is one of the star names adopted recently by the IAU.
What you see in the piece
In the piece its colour is its heat; fly out from the Sun and the Cross falls apart, its stars lying at quite different distances.
Questions
How hot is Imai?
Its surface temperature is 22,000 K, far hotter than the Sun, which is why it looks blue-white.