Ras Elased Australis is a yellow giant in Leo, the southern star of the lion’s head, sitting at the bend of the Sickle that draws the lion’s mane.
At a glance
| type | yellow giant (class G) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 247 light-years (75.6 pc) |
| its light left it | 247 years ago |
| luminosity | 342 × the Sun |
| radius | 17.5 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 5,940 K |
| constellation | Leo (Lion) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Ras Elased Australis
The facts describe a giant, many times wider than the Sun and far more luminous, with a surface of about solar temperature, so its light is yellow. It is an evolved star, larger and more powerful than it was on the main sequence.
Its name is from the Arabic ras al-asad, the head of the lion, with the Latin australis, southern, to tell it from Rasalas, the northern star of the head. Both belong to the Sickle, the backwards question mark of stars that ends in Regulus.
What you see in the piece
In the piece it is drawn with its true brightness and yellow colour. Leave the Earth and the Sickle unhooks: its stars sit at a range of distances.
Questions
What is the Sickle of Leo?
A hook of stars, Regulus, Algieba, Adhafera, Rasalas and Ras Elased Australis among them, that draws the lion’s head and mane.