Alnair: how to find it and when to see it
Alnair ranks 30th of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 1.73, in the constellation Grus.
You can see it from anywhere south of 43° N, and it's highest in the evening sky in October.
Alnair at a glance
Where Alnair is in the sky
Alnair sits 47.0° south of the celestial equator, the line in the sky directly above Earth's equator, so it's in the southern half of the sky. Its right ascension is 22 h 8 min.
Right ascension works like longitude on the sky. It's counted in hours, and about one hour of it turns past you each hour of the night.
When and where to see Alnair
From the northern hemisphere
From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Alnair rises a little east of due south, climbs to 3° above the horizon in the south and sets a little west of due south.
It never climbs more than 3° above the horizon, so you need a clear, low view to the south to spot it.
From the southern hemisphere
From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Alnair rises in the south-east, climbs to 77° above the horizon in the south and sets in the south-west.
It's in the evening sky from June to January, and it's highest in the evening around October 8, in spring.
How high Alnair climbs from each latitude
The evening is about 9 pm local time, or 10 pm in summer time, and later when the sky is still too bright. A star counts as in the evening sky when it's at least 10° above the horizon.
| Latitude | Visibility | Highest point | Evening sky |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60° N | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 50° N | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 40° N | Rises and sets | 3° in the south | None |
| 30° N | Rises and sets | 13° in the south | Sep to Oct |
| 20° N | Rises and sets | 23° in the south | Sep to Nov |
| Equator | Rises and sets | 43° in the south | Aug to Dec |
| 20° S | Rises and sets | 63° in the south | Jul to Dec |
| 34° S | Rises and sets | 77° in the south | Jun to Jan |
| 45° S | Never sets | 88° in the south | Jun to Feb |
What the name Alnair means
Alnair comes from the Arabic al-nayyir, the bright one.
Keep the sky of a night that matters
Our star maps show the stars above any place, at the minute you choose, with the constellation lines drawn in. If Alnair was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.
Questions about Alnair
Alnair is in Grus. It sits 47.0° south of the celestial equator, at a right ascension of 22 h 8 min.
Alnair is highest in the evening sky around October 8. That's autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere.
Yes, from anywhere south of 43° N. From 40° N, it climbs to 3° above the horizon in the south.
Alnair has a magnitude of 1.73, which ranks it 30th of the 74 bright stars on our list. Sirius looks about 19 times brighter.
Alnair comes from the Arabic al-nayyir, the bright one.