Star profile
Zeta Microscopium
What is Zeta Microscopium
Zeta Microscopii resides in the tiny Microscope constellation, another of Lacaille's creations in his effort to name the southern sky. It is an F-type star about 115 light-years away, slightly hotter and more luminous than the Sun. In a quiet stellar field, where eye-catching stars are scarce, its modest glow serves as a reference for locating the very constellation of the optical instrument.
Where it is and when to see it
Zeta Microscopium 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: 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.
It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.
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
If you don't have an account yet, we'll ask for an email to confirm it's you: we send you a link and that's it, no password.
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 Zeta Microscopium
- Constellation
- Microscopium
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.32
- Distance
- 115.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 315.741° · Dec -38.631°
- Catalogue
- HIP 103882 · HD 200163
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Microscopium
Microscopium has 23 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Gamma Microscopium4.67
- Epsilon Microscopium4.71
- Theta 1 Microscopium4.80
- Nu Microscopium5.12
- HIP 1041745.20
- HIP 1047385.25
- HIP 1031275.34
- HIP 1047505.41