Tania Australis is a red giant on a hind foot of the Great Bear, the southern star of the second of the Leaps of the Gazelle.
At a glance
| type | red giant (class M) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 230 light-years (70.6 pc) |
| its light left it | 230 years ago |
| luminosity | 761 × the Sun |
| radius | 63.7 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 3,800 K |
| constellation | Ursa Major (Great Bear) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Tania Australis
Tania Australis is a red giant of class M, a cool, swollen star far wider and much more luminous than the Sun, its surface cool enough to glow orange-red. It is near the end of its life as a normal star.
Its name means the southern star of the second leap: Tania from the Arabic for the second, australis from the Latin for southern. With Tania Borealis it makes one of the three pairs of gazelle hoofprints under the Bear.
What you see in the piece
In the piece its colour is that of its cool surface. It lies well behind its northern partner, and from space the pair breaks apart.
Questions
What kind of star is Tania Australis?
A red giant (class M), about 63.7 times the Sun’s radius and 761 times its luminosity, with a surface temperature of 3,800 K.