{"id":55333,"date":"2024-02-29T11:41:31","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T11:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/83b0d261-8659-433d-8fab-61dc66ee24f8"},"modified":"2024-02-29T12:33:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T12:33:48","slug":"star-55-cancri-a-will-receive-a-cosmic-call-from-earth-in-2044-heres-how-to-see-the-star-in-the-night-sky","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/star-55-cancri-a-will-receive-a-cosmic-call-from-earth-in-2044-heres-how-to-see-the-star-in-the-night-sky\/","title":{"rendered":"Star 55 Cancri A will receive a ‘Cosmic Call’ from Earth in 2044. Here’s how to see the star in the night sky."},"content":{"rendered":"

On 6 July 2003, a message named \u2018Cosmic Call 2\u2019 was sent to the 55 Cancri system. Find out how to see the star in our guide below. <\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 29 February 2024 at 11:41 AM<\/p>

\n\n

55 Cancri A, also officially named Copernicus, is known to have a family of five exoplanets<\/a> in orbit around it, possibly even more.<\/p>

The star is located just 41 lightyears<\/a> from the Sun, a stone’s throw in cosmic terms.<\/p>

And 55 Cancri A is a K0 IV\u2013V type star; a cool, G-type main sequence star<\/a> or sub-giant star, a little bit like our Sun.<\/p>

Artist’s illustration of the super-Earth exoplanet 55 Cancri e, depicted with its host star. The planet’s atmosphere’s ingredients could be similar to those of Earth’s atmosphere. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/figcaption><\/figure>

It\u2019s not alone, having a dim mag. 13.2 red dwarf to keep it company.<\/p>

From Earth, the pair appear separated by 85 arcseconds and seem to be gravitationally bound to one another.<\/p>

The primary, 55 Cancri A, is marginally smaller and less massive than our Sun, and is around 60% as luminous.<\/p>

On 6 July 2003, a METI\u00a0(Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) message named \u2018Cosmic Call 2<\/a>\u2019 was sent to the 55 Cancri system. This message will arrive in May 2044.<\/p>

\"Artist\u2019s
Artist\u2019s impression of exoplanet 55 Cancri e, which orbits a star slightly smaller, cooler and less bright than our Sun. Credit: ESA\/Hubble<\/figcaption><\/figure>

How to see 55 Cancri in the night sky<\/strong><\/h2>

Rho1<\/sup>, as 55 Cancri A is also known, is an interesting star that can ignite the imagination, but it needn’t remain in the realms of fantasy; you can observe this star in the night sky.<\/p>

You can find it in the constellation Cancer<\/a> the Crab, which is represented by a faint, inverted Y shape. <\/p>

The base of the Y, which marks the north point of the pattern, is mag. 4.0 Iota (\u03b9) Cancri.<\/p>

\"Chart
Chart showing the location of 55 Cancri in Cancer. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Located 1.3\u00b0 further to the east-southeast is mag. +5.9 Rho1<\/sup> (\u03c11<\/sup>) Cancri, with mag. +5.2 Rho2<\/sup> (\u03c12<\/sup>) Cancri 0.8\u00b0 further to the east-southeast.\u00a0<\/p>

There\u2019s an easy way to confirm you have the right star: mag. +6.3 53 Cancri lies 4.5 arcminutes south and slightly west of 55 Cancri, forming a distinctive and easily recognised pair.\u00a0<\/p>

Four of the planets orbit 55 Cancri closer than Earth orbits the Sun. 55 Cancri d, the largest of the five, with a mass of 3.12 Jupiters, orbits at a distance of 6 AU.<\/p>

Have you managed to observe 55 Cancri? What message would you send out to a Sun-like star? Let us know by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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