· · · ·

Naos

Suhail Hadar, Zeta Puppis

Proper NamesNaos, Suhail Hadar
Bayer DesignationZeta Puppis
Flamsteed NumberNone
HR (BSC)3165
HD66811
ConstellationPuppis
Right Ascension8h 3m 35s
Declination-40° 0' 11"
Distancec.1,100 light years
c.300 parsecs
MagnitudeApparent: +2.2
Absolute: -5.4
Spectral ClassO5If Blue-white Supergiant
Optimum VisibilityFebruary
NotesNaos is a supergiant belonging to one of the hottest classes of stars, the bright blue O-type. It has a surface temperature of some 42,000 K, making it about seven times hotter than the Sun, and emits about 400,000 times as much energy (although much of this is in ultraviolet wavelengths invisible to the human eye).

Despite its 'zeta' designation, Naos appears in the sky as the brightest of Puppis' stars. In reality, it is brighter still, and belongs to the highly luminous and hot O-type supergiants. Its distance from Earth is so great, though, that it appears relatively dim in comparison with closer stars.

Indexes

Related Entries