Star profile
Sualocin
Alpha Delphinus · Delphinus
Hot blue starWhat is Sualocin
Sualocin is the brightest star of Delphinus and hides one of the few jokes ever inscribed in the sky. In 1814, the Italian astronomer Niccolò Cacciatore Latinised his own name as «Nicolaus Venator» and reversed it letter by letter to christen this star, which has appeared in official catalogues ever since. It is a hot blue-white B-type star 254 light-years away, young and bright, whose humble origin as a signed wink contrasts with the majesty of its light.
Where it is and when to see it
Sualocin lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is August: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for Sualocin
- Constellation
- Delphinus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.77
- Distance
- 253.9 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 309.910° · Dec 15.912°
- Catalogue
- HIP 101958 · HD 196867
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Delphinus
Delphinus has 18 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- RotanevBeta Delphinus3.64
- AldulfinEpsilon Delphinus4.03
- Gamma 2 Delphinus4.27
- Delta Delphinus4.43
- Zeta Delphinus4.64
- Kappa Delphinus5.07
- Gamma 1 Delphinus5.15
- 17 Delphinus5.19