It is the only star in the constellation with a traditional proper name, Alphekka Meridiana (Latin for 'Alphekka South'), after Alphecca, the brightest star in the constellation Corona Borealis.

[13] Consequently, the Chinese name for Alpha Coronae Australis itself is 鱉六 (Biēliù, English: the Sixth Star of River Turtle.).

[14] Alpha Coronae Australis belongs to the spectral class A2Va, making it an A-type star like Vega.

With an effective temperature of roughly 9,100 K, the star radiates a total luminosity of about 31 times the Sun's.

[2] A rapidly rotating star, it spins at almost 200 km per second at the equator, making a complete revolution in approximately 14 hours,[9] close to its breakup velocity.