Theta Centauri is a single star in the southern constellation of Centaurus, the centaur. It has the official name Menkent, pronounced ; Theta Centauri is its Bayer designation, which is Latinized from θ Centauri and abbreviated Theta Cen or θ Cen. With an apparent visual magnitude of +2.06, it is the fourth-brightest member of the constellation. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is about 58.8 light-years (18.0 parsecs) distant. It has a relatively high proper motion, traversing the celestial sphere at the rate of 0.73 arcsecond/yr. This suggests that Menkent may have originated in the outer disk of the Milky Way and is merely passing through the solar neighborhood.

Closest relatives