Star profile

Dabih

Beta Capricorni · Capricornus

3D likeness based on its real data · class A · ~8,500 K

What is Dabih

Dabih, on the head of Capricorn, preserves the Arabic name «al-dhābiḥ», «the slaughterer», recalling pre-Islamic rituals tied to the star's heliacal rising. It is a luminous white star which the naked eye sees as a single point, yet through binoculars splits into two companions of contrasting hue. Its light departs 327 years before reaching us — from the very place where the sky changes zodiacal sign in the depth of winter.

Where it is and when to see it

Dabih lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is July, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 24° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 35° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 71° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 75° N.

It ranks no. 2 in brightness among the 48 stars of Capricornus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Deneb Algedi, the brightest: it lies about 21° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 330 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Dabih

Constellation: Capricornus
Apparent magnitude: 3.05
Distance: 326.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 305.253° · Dec -14.781°
Catalogue: HIP 100345 · HD 193495

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Other stars in Capricornus

Capricornus has 48 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 48 stars in Capricornus