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Iota Gruis — Star in Grus

Magnitude 3.9m Star Grus (Gru) Visible
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1Physical Properties

Magnitude 3.90
Spectral Type K1 III giant
Star Color Orange (B-V 1.02)
Distance 183 ly

2Position & Identifiers

RA 23h 10m 21.6s
Dec -45° 14' 48.0"
Constellation Grus (Gru)
HR 8820
HIP 114421
HD 218670
SAO 231468
Bayer Iota
SIMBAD

3How easy to spot?

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Equipment Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5
Naked eye Easy Medium+ Medium+
50mm finder Easy Easy Easy
150mm scope Easy Easy Easy
Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs

4Visibility

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Best season Aug – Oct (peak: Sep)

5Survey Image

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7

Size Comparison

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8

Compare Stars

9

Spectral Classification

10

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

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Read: The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram — Reading Stars Like a Map
11

Stellar Lifecycle

12

Blackbody Spectrum

13

Stellar Absorption Spectrum

Simulated absorption spectrum based on spectral type. Hover over lines to identify elements.

14

Stellar Fusion

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15Stellar Notes

409.614d, K 13.6k/s, V0 -4.2k/s, asini 57.5.
Probable Hyades group.
16

Light Travel Time Machine

17

Relativistic Travel

Nearby in the Sky

Other targets within a few degrees — pan your scope a little and keep exploring.

Visibility scores assume a 150 mm Newton at Bortle 4.

NGC 7531
Medium+
Bright spiral galaxy
Galaxy mag 11.3 1.8° Grus
Theta Gru
Hard+
Tight double — a rewarding split at 1.5″
Double Star mag 4.28 1.8° Grus
Tiaki
HIP 112122; Beta Gruis
Easy
Cool red giant
Star mag 2.10 5.1° Grus
Pi Gru
HIP 110478; Pi Gruis
Easy
Semi-regular variable, range 5.4–6.7
Variable Star mag 6.62 8.4° Grus
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