Suhail
Lambda Velorum
Scientific overview
Suhail is a red supergiant in the constellation Vela (Velorum), lying about 544.5 light-years from Earth.
Class K. Cooler orange stars. Long-lived and abundant; many are stable hosts for planets. Such stars have surface temperatures around 3,700–5,200 K and appear orange to the eye.
Physical properties
| Spectral type | K4Ib-II |
| Luminosity class | Ib |
| Apparent magnitude | 2.23 |
| Absolute magnitude | -3.88 |
| Luminosity (Sun = 1) | 3,113 |
| Colour index (B−V) | 1.665 |
| Distance | 544.5 ly (166.94 pc) |
Values are real catalogue data; fields without a reliable value are omitted, never estimated.
Precision measurements
Astrometry and astrophysics from SIMBAD
| Parallax | 5.99 ± 0.11 mas | SIMBAD · measured |
| Proper motion (RA) | -24.01 mas/yr | SIMBAD · measured |
| Proper motion (Dec) | 13.52 mas/yr | SIMBAD · measured |
| Radial velocity | 17.6 ± 0.3 km/s | SIMBAD · measured |
| Spectral type | K4Ib | SIMBAD · catalogued |
| Right ascension (ICRS) | 137 deg | SIMBAD · measured |
| Declination (ICRS) | -43.4326 deg | SIMBAD · measured |
Full field-level provenance
- Parallax: Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · plx_value · 2007A&A...474..653V · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Proper motion (RA): Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · pmra · 2007A&A...474..653V · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Proper motion (Dec): Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · pmdec · 2007A&A...474..653V · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Radial velocity: Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · rvz_radvel · 2006AstL...32..759G · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Spectral type: Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · sp_type · 1989ApJS...71..245K · catalogue identifier/value · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Right ascension (ICRS): Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · ra · 2007A&A...474..653V · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Declination (ICRS): Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · dec · 2007A&A...474..653V · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
measured = direct catalogue value · estimated = Bayesian inference (Bailer-Jones distance) · modeled = model output (Gaia GSP-Phot). Fields a source did not provide are omitted, never invented.
Evolution
A red supergiant is a colossal, cool, luminous evolved star. The largest known stars are red supergiants, and many end as supernovae.
Location in the sky
Knowledge connections
- In constellationVela
Related stars in Vela
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- HYG DatabaseHYG Database (Hipparcos + Yale Bright Star + Gliese), by D. Nash / astronexus
Aggregated, openly-licensed star catalogue combining Hipparcos, the Yale Bright Star Catalogue, and the Gliese Catalogue of Nearby Stars.
- HipparcosESA Hipparcos space astrometry mission
High-precision parallax, magnitude, and position for ~118,000 stars.