Star profile
Eta Microscopium
What is Eta Microscopium
η Microscopii is an orange giant in the Microscope, one of the constellations from the scientific cabinet that the abbé Lacaille traced in the southern sky in the 18th century. Its warm K-type light belongs to a mature star, swollen after millions of years of fusion. It rests in a dark, quiet region of the firmament, far from the great luminaries of the south.
Where it is and when to see it
Eta 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.
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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 Eta Microscopium
- Constellation
- Microscopium
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.55
- Distance
- 712.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 316.606° · Dec -41.386°
- Catalogue
- HIP 104177 · HD 200702
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
- HIP 1024975.48
- HIP 1059135.50
- HIP 1029165.52
- HIP 1058545.64
- Delta Microscopium5.69