Centaurus Constellation: Stars, Mythology, Deep Space Objects & Facts

By : John Whitworth / Updated : Apr 15th, 2026 22:58

Contents

Centaurus's Stars

Here are a few facts about the stars in the constellation.

• Centaurus has twelve stars that make up the constellation's shape.
• The Hipparcos satellite scanned and detailed four thousand two hundred and sixty-three stars.
• You can see three hundred and ten stars within the Centaurus constellation borders with the naked eye on a clear night sky.
• Proxima Centauri is Centaurus's nearest star, about 4.243 light-years from the Earth.
• The nearest star in Centaurus to the Earth with an exoplanet is HD 113538, about 51.75 light-years away.
• V766 Centauri is Centaurus's largest star in the constellation.

Proxima Centauri

Centaurus constellation contains the three closest stars to our solar system, excluding our Sun, of course. The closest star to us is Proxima Centauri, a small, red dwarf star located approximately four light-years away.

Proxima is not visible in the night sky due to its brightness and size. It was discovered that Proxima Centauri had a planet in orbit around it, raising hopes that there could be life on the planet. Hopes were dashed when it was discovered that the planet was doused with deadly radiation from a solar flare.

Rigil Kentaurus

Rigil Kentaurus is the officially recognised proper name for Alpha Centauri, the second closest star to our solar system. It is roughly equivalent to our star in terms of size and shape, and both stars are classified as yellow main sequence stars. In addition to Proxima Centauri, there is another third star, Alpha Centauri B, in orbit in the multi-star system.

BPM 37093

If you could fly to this star, you would be rich beyond your wildest dreams. BPM 37093 or, more simply put, Lucy is a 10 billion trillion trillion-carat diamond. It was named Lucy after the Beatles' song, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

Interesting Fun Facts about Centaurus Constellation

• Centaurus contains the nearest star to our Solar System, Proxima Centauri.
• Centaurus contains the three nearest stars to Earth.
• Centaurus contains the nearest exoplanet to our Solar System, also orbiting Proxima Centauri.
• Centaurus contains the largest Globular Cluster so far discovered, Omega Centauri

How to Find Centaurus in the night sky

Northern Hemisphere

You would have to be as far south as Miami to see the constellation of Centaurus. Even then, the constellation barely registers on the horizon between May and September, and you'd have to go somewhere away from all the light.

Southern Hemisphere

Centaurus starts appearing in November but isn't fully visible until the end of January in the southeast. The constellation will move high into the sky before disappearing back in the southwesterly direction in August-September.

Mythology

Centaurs were half-horse, half-man creatures of Greek legend. The most famous is Sagittarius . Hercules encountered Centaurs during his fourth labour as he went to capture the Erymanthian Boar. The constellation refers to Pholus, a friend of Hercules who provided him with food and help.

Deep Space Objects (e.g. Galaxies) in Centaurus Constellation

Boomerang Nebula

Boomerang Nebula is a proto-Planetary Nebula, it's in the infancy stage of becoming a full planetary nebula. When a small to medium-sized star dies, it cannot retain its mass and therefore releases it through stellar winds. Interestingly, the clouds are just 1 degree above absolute zero (- 272 °C). It is recognised as being the coldest place so far discovered.

Lemon Galaxy

There doesn't seem to be much about the Lemon Galaxy on the net, no pictures. One would suspect that the galaxy would be bright yellow, hence its name.

Omega Centauri

Despite having a Bayer name, Omega Centauri is a Globular Star Cluster with a rich array of Blue and Red stars. Among them will be Blue Stragglers, a subgroup of Vampire Stars (Symbiotic). Vampire stars are stars that siphon mass from a nearby star to look younger than they are. Blue stars are the hottest and are normally considered young.

Backwards Galaxy

The Backwards Galaxy rotates on its axis in the opposite direction to other spiral galaxies, which is why it is classified as interesting.

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