Minchir is an orange giant in the head of Hydra, the long Water Snake, its name taken from the Arabic for the snake’s nostril.
At a glance
| type | orange giant (class K) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 373 light-years (114 pc) |
| its light left it | 373 years ago |
| luminosity | 268 × the Sun |
| radius | 23.4 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 4,830 K |
| constellation | Hydra (Female Water Snake) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Minchir
The card describes an evolved star, larger and much more luminous than the Sun and cooler at the surface, hence its orange light. Like most giants it has run out of hydrogen in its core and expanded.
Hydra is the largest of all the constellations, winding across a long stretch of the sky. Its head is a small knot of stars, among them Ashlesha and Minchir, set south of Cancer, and the snake trails away eastwards from there.
What you see in the piece
Flown to in the piece, the head of the snake does not hold together: Minchir and its neighbours lie at different distances and only look like a tight group from the Earth.
Questions
How far away is Minchir?
Minchir is 373 light-years (114 pc) from the Sun; its light left it 373 years ago.