Mimosa: how to find it and when to see it
Mimosa ranks 19th of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 1.25, in the constellation Crux.
You can see it from anywhere south of 30° N, and it's highest in the evening sky in May.
Mimosa at a glance
- Constellation
- Crux
- Magnitude
- 1.25
- Rank on our list
- 19 of 74
- Hemisphere
- Southern
- Right ascension
- 12 h 48 min
- Declination
- 59.7° south
- Visible from
- south of 30° N
- Never sets
- south of 30° S
- Best evening
- May 19
Where Mimosa is in the sky
Mimosa sits 59.7° 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 12 h 48 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 Mimosa
From the northern hemisphere
From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Mimosa never rises above the horizon. You need to be south of 30° N to see it.
From the southern hemisphere
From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Mimosa never sets: it circles the pole all night and climbs to 64° above the horizon in the south.
It's in the evening sky from January to September, and it's highest in the evening around May 19, in autumn.
How high Mimosa 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 | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 30° N | Rises and sets | 0° in the south | None |
| 20° N | Rises and sets | 10° in the south | May |
| Equator | Rises and sets | 30° in the south | Mar to Jul |
| 20° S | Rises and sets | 50° in the south | Feb to Aug |
| 34° S | Never sets | 64° in the south | Jan to Sep |
| 45° S | Never sets | 75° in the south | All year |
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 Mimosa was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.
Questions about Mimosa
Mimosa is in Crux. It sits 59.7° south of the celestial equator, at a right ascension of 12 h 48 min.
Mimosa is highest in the evening sky around May 19. That's spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere.
Yes, from anywhere south of 30° N. From 40° N, it never rises, so you need to be further south.
Mimosa has a magnitude of 1.25, which ranks it 19th of the 74 bright stars on our list. Sirius looks about 12 times brighter.