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Star

Plaskett's Star

Also HD 47129 · V640 Monocerotis

Open in Ouranos

One of the most massive binary stars known, two hot O-type stars orbiting every 14.4 days.

Measured

Distance
about 4,283 light-years (published estimates 3,922–4,717)
Constellation
Monoceros
Position (J2000)
RA 6h 37m 24s, Dec +6.14°

How far, from the Sun

About 4,280 light-years. To cross it:

  • Light4,280 years
  • Voyager 1's speed76.1 million years
  • Driving at 100 km/h46.2 billion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • Plaskett found it to be a binary in 1922.
  • Its distance comes from a Gaia parallax: the tiny yearly shift in its position as the Earth circles the Sun.

Where this comes from

  • Gaia DR3 parallax 0.7615 ± 0.0701 mas, Gaia DR3 3131898712120792064 (Gaia Collaboration 2023, A&A 674, A1)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.