The AsterNym star registry
Southern Crab
Southern Crab: the pale star of Centaurus
pale · Centaurus · WRAY 16-147
Southern Crab is a pale star in the constellation Centaurus, one of the stars with a proper name recognised in the IAU Catalog of Star Names. At magnitude 14.20 it is a binocular or telescope object.
Most stars in the sky are anonymous points of light. Southern Crab is not. Some IAU-recognised names are ancient; others were adopted by the IAU only recently. Either way, the star already has a scientific identity, and a dedication attaches a human story to it.
Real star · Personal dedication · Recorded in the AsterNym registry
See what a dedicated page looks like: preview
Southern Crab at a glance
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Other name
- WRAY 16-147
- Catalogue number
- WRAY 16-147
- Distance
- Not quoted. The parallax error is about a fifth of the parallax, too loose to turn into a distance.
- Brightness
- Magnitude 14.20 telescope
- Colour
- pale
- Best seen from
- The Southern Hemisphere and lower northern latitudes
- Right ascension
- 14h 11m 52s
- Declination
- −51° 26′ 24″
J2000 catalogue coordinates that can be independently cross-checked against astronomical databases. A planetarium app showing coordinates of date will differ slightly, because proper motion and precession move a star’s apparent position over time.
What kind of star is Southern Crab?
Southern Crab is catalogued as a pale star and its spectral type is not cleanly classified in the data behind this page, so what follows stays with what has been measured rather than what could be inferred from it.
What could a Southern Crab dedication represent?
Southern Crab is especially meaningful for someone who:
- · Deserves something older than any gift shop
- · Marks a beginning, an anniversary or a promise
- · Is remembered every time you look up
- · Has a light you want recorded somewhere permanent
Dedication idea
“For the one I think of when I find Centaurus in the sky.”
Where can you see Southern Crab?
It is easy to see from much of the Southern Hemisphere. It can also appear from lower northern latitudes, but it never rises for observers north of about latitude 39°N. It passes directly overhead at latitude 51°S. It stands highest at midnight in April, so April and May evenings are the best time to look. At magnitude 14.20 it sits below naked-eye reach; binoculars or a small telescope will find it.
Southern Crab belongs to Centaurus.
What does Southern Crab mean in astrology?
The classical fixed-star tradition: Ptolemy, the medieval Behenian lists, Robson’s 1923 compilation. Is silent on Southern Crab, and we don’t invent lore where none exists. What astrology can still read is the star’s real position, below.
Projected onto the zodiac the way fixed-star astrology reads any star, Southern Crab stands at 19° Scorpio at the J2000 epoch, and the Sun passes that degree around 8 November in the years around 2000. Fixed-star longitude shifts slowly against the tropical zodiac because of precession, about one degree every seventy-two years, so a natal conjunction must be calculated for the birth year rather than read off this J2000 value or a calendar date.
Traditional interpretations, not facts or predictions. The position and dates are computed.
Dedicate Southern Crab to someone who matters
A flower fades. A card is eventually put away. A star gives your message a place in the sky.
from$29.95a year
Dedicate Southern Crab →Real star · your message · a page to share
Your Southern Crab dedication includes
- Your chosen dedication name
- Your personal message
- Southern Crab's real astronomical coordinates
- A shareable dedication page
- Its location on the AsterNym Galaxy Map
- An optional printable certificate and gift presentation
Southern Crab keeps its established astronomical name. Your dedication is a personal commemorative record within the AsterNym registry.
Frequently asked questions about Southern Crab
- What does Southern Crab mean in astrology?
- The classical fixed-star tradition has no documented meaning for Southern Crab. Projected onto the zodiac, Southern Crab stands at 19° Scorpio, and the Sun passes that degree each year around 8 November.
- Is Southern Crab the brightest star?
- Southern Crab shines at magnitude 14.20 · a binocular-and-telescope star, one of the few thousand stars with an officially recognised name.
- How far away is Southern Crab?
- No distance is quoted for Southern Crab. The parallax error is about a fifth of the parallax, too loose to turn into a distance.
- Which constellation contains Southern Crab?
- Southern Crab is part of Centaurus.
- Can everyone see Southern Crab?
- It is easy to see from much of the Southern Hemisphere. It can also appear from lower northern latitudes, but it never rises for observers north of about latitude 39°N. It passes directly overhead at latitude 51°S. It stands highest at midnight in April, so April and May evenings are the best time to look. At magnitude 14.20 it sits below naked-eye reach; binoculars or a small telescope will find it.
- Is dedicating Southern Crab an official astronomical renaming?
- No. Southern Crab keeps its internationally recognised astronomical name. An AsterNym dedication records your personal name and message in the AsterNym registry without changing the star's scientific identity.
Explore nearby stars
