Star profile
HIP 102599
Northern polar starWhat is HIP 102599
In the northern polar sky, deep within the winding Dragon, glows this orange K-type giant. Close to the world's axis, it never sets for northern observers and traces small eternal circles around the pole. Its light departed around the seventeenth century, when Cervantes was finishing the second part of Don Quixote in Madrid in 1615. Colder and far larger than the Sun, it watches the north like an ancient ember that never tires of turning.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 102599 lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is December, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 61° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 50° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 9° S.
It ranks no. 60 in brightness among the 122 stars of Draco in our catalogue. To find it, start from Eltanin, the brightest: it lies about 32° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 400 years ago.
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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 HIP 102599
- Constellation
- Draco
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.36
- Distance
- 398.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 311.890° · Dec 80.552°
- Catalogue
- HIP 102599 · HD 199437
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Draco
Draco has 122 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- EltaninGamma Draco2.24
- AthebyneEta Draco2.73
- RastabanBeta Draco2.79
- HIP 801615.26
- HIP 814375.28
- 3 Draco5.32
- 9 Draco5.37
- HIP 798045.37