Upsilon Carinae is a binary star

Binary star

A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary...

 in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 Carina

Carina (constellation)

Carina is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the keel of a ship, and it was formerly part of the larger constellation of Argo Navis until that constellation was divided in three.-Stars:...

. It is part of the Diamond Cross

Diamond Cross

The Diamond Cross is an asterism in the southern constellation Carina. The Diamond Cross is composed of four bright stars: Beta, Theta, Upsilon and Omega Carinae. These four bright stars create an almost perfect diamond shape, hence the name "Diamond Cross". The entire asterism is visible to all...

 asterism

Asterism (astronomy)

In astronomy, an asterism is a pattern of stars recognized on Earth's night sky. It may form part of an official constellation, or be composed of stars from more than one. Like constellations, asterisms are in most cases composed of stars which, while they are visible in the same general direction,...

 in southern Carina.

The Upsilon Carinae system has a combined apparent magnitude

Apparent magnitude

The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...

 of +2.92 and is approximately 1623 light years from Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

.

In Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, , meaning Sea Rock, refers to an asterism consisting of υ Carinae, ε Carinae

Epsilon Carinae

Epsilon Carinae is a star in the constellation Carina. At apparent magnitude +1.86 it is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, but is not visible from the northern hemisphere....

, ι Carinae

Iota Carinae

Iota Carinae is a star in the constellation Carina. It is one of the brighter stars in the night sky.It has the traditional names Aspidiske, Scutulum and Turais...

, HD 83183

HD 83183

HD 83183, also known as h Carinae is a star in the constellation Carina. It is a blue-white B-type bright giant with an apparent magnitude of +4.08 and is approximately 1980 light years from Earth....

 and HD 84810

HD 84810

HD 84810, also known as l Carinae is a star in the constellation Carina.l Carinae is a yellow G-type supergiant with a mean apparent magnitude of +3.69. It is approximately 1510 light years from Earth. It is classified as a Cepheid variable star and its brightness varies from magnitude +3.28 to...

. Consequently, υ Carinae itself is known as

The primary component, υ Carinae A, is a white A-type

Stellar classification

In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...

 supergiant

Supergiant

Supergiants are among the most massive stars. They occupy the top region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. In the Yerkes spectral classification, supergiants are class Ia or Ib . They typically have bolometric absolute magnitudes between -5 and -12...

 with an apparent magnitude

Apparent magnitude

The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...

 of +3.01. The companion, υ Carinae B, is a blue-white B-type

Stellar classification

In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. The spectral class of a star is a designated class of a star describing the ionization of its chromosphere, what atomic excitations are most prominent in the light, giving an objective measure...

 giant

Giant star

A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main sequence star of the same surface temperature. Typically, giant stars have radii between 10 and 100 solar radii and luminosities between 10 and 1,000 times that of the Sun. Stars still more luminous than giants are...

 with an apparent magnitude

Apparent magnitude

The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...

 of +6.26. The two stars are 5 arcseconds apart.