Avior (Epsilon Carinae)
Avior (Epsilon Carinae) is a star in the constellation Carina, magnitude 1.9.
A star christened by the RAF — an orange giant whose name nobody ever explained.
Avior’s name was made up in the late 1930s. HM Nautical Almanac Office was compiling The Air Almanac for the Royal Air Force, and two of its 57 navigation stars had no classical names. The RAF insisted that every star must have one, so new names were invented: Alpha Pavonis became Peacock, and Epsilon Carinae became Avior. Donald Sadler, the office’s superintendent, told the story in his memoirs — but never explained what Avior means.
Its light comes from two stars too close to separate by eye. The brighter is an orange giant star that has left its youth behind and varies slowly. Its companion is a hot blue-white star, which may have a partner of its own; if so, that pair may eclipse each other every 785 days, dimming the system slightly.
Avior (Epsilon Carinae) is 610 light-years away: the light we see from it set off around 1415, 40 years before Gutenberg printed his Bible.
Did you know?
- A hidden blue star. On its own, Avior’s blue-white companion would shine at magnitude 3.9, easy to see with the naked eye. Here its light merges with the orange giant’s.
- The Sea Rock. In Chinese astronomy Avior is the first star of Hǎi Shí, the Sea Rock, a pattern it forms with stars of Carina.
An orange star at one corner of the False Cross, a large kite of four stars sometimes mistaken for the Southern Cross. Compare its warm orange with the white stars at the other three corners.
When and where to see it
It is best placed in the evening sky around February, when it crosses the meridian at about 10 pm local time (around midnight in January). It can be seen from everywhere south of 30°N and never sets south of 30°S.
At its highest it stands below the horizon from 50°N, below the horizon from 35°N, 30° up from the equator, 65° up from 35°S.
Facts
- Type
- Star
- Constellation
- Carina
- Designations
- Epsilon Carinae, ε Car, HR 3307, HIP 41037
- Magnitude
- 1.9
- Position
- RA 8h 22.5m, Dec −59° 31′ (J2000)
- Spectral type
- K3:III+B2:V
- Colour
- orange (B−V 1.27)
- Distance
- 610 light-years
- Discovered
- Naked-eye star; named Avior by HM Nautical Almanac Office in the late 1930s
Open AstroPilot to see when Avior (Epsilon Carinae) is highest tonight from your location, how easy it is with your telescope or binoculars, and an eyepiece view.