Star profile

Gamma 1 Delphinus

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

What is Gamma 1 Delphinus

Gamma-1 Delphini is one of the four stars that draw Job's Coffin, the small lozenge shaping the body of the Dolphin in the summer sky. With its companion Gamma-2 it forms a visual binary described as one of the prettiest in the sky: two suns of contrasting hues — orange and lime green to the eye — circling each other in a period of about 3,250 years, with separations ranging from 40 to 600 astronomical units.

Where it is and when to see it

Gamma 1 Delphinus 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, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 55° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 65° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 40° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 74° S.

It ranks no. 8 in brightness among the 18 stars of Delphinus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rotanev, the brightest: it lies about 3° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 120 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Gamma 1 Delphinus

Constellation: Delphinus
Apparent magnitude: 5.15
Distance: 123.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 311.662° · Dec 16.124°
Catalogue: HIP 102531 · HD 197963

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Other stars in Delphinus

Delphinus has 18 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 18 stars in Delphinus