Star profile
Kitalpha
Alpha Equuleus · Equuleus
What is Kitalpha
Kitalpha is «the piece of the horse» in Arabic, a linguistic survivor of Equuleus, the small constellation of the foal that timidly peeks out beside the imposing figure of Pegasus in the autumn sky. It is a yellowish star 190 light-years away, similar to the Sun in colour but slightly older and noticeably more luminous than our own daytime star. Equuleus is the second smallest constellation in the entire firmament, and Kitalpha is practically the only astronomically notable resident.
Where it is and when to see it
Kitalpha 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 Kitalpha
- Constellation
- Equuleus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.92
- Distance
- 190.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 318.956° · Dec 5.248°
- Catalogue
- HIP 104987 · HD 202447
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Equuleus
Equuleus has 12 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Delta Equuleus4.47
- Gamma Equuleus4.70
- Beta Equuleus5.16
- HIP 1035715.24
- Epsilon Equuleus5.30
- HYG 1193975.40
- 3 Equuleus5.63
- 9 Equuleus5.81