Beta Cancri

Starbox short
name=β Cancri
epoch=J2000.0
constell=Cancer
ra=08^h16^m30.9^s
dec=+9°11′08″
spectral=K4IIIBa0.5
appmag_v=+3.50
dist_ly=290 ± 25
dist_pc=89 ± 8
names=Altarf, Al Tarf, Tarf, 17 Cancri, HR 3249, HD 69267, BD+09°1917, FK5 312, HIP 40526, SAO 116569, GC 11254, ADS 6704, CCDM 08165+0911

Beta Cancri (β Cnc / β Cancri) is the brightest star in the constellation Cancer. It also has the traditional name Altarf, also known as al-Tarf (Arabic for "the tip"). It is approximately 290 light years from Earth.

The primary component, β Cancri A, is an orange K-type giant with an apparent magnitude of +3.50 and absolute magnitude of -1.25 (visual). It has a faint, fourteenth magnitude companion, β Cancri B, located 29 arcseconds from the primary.