Star profile

Lambda Octans

Southern polar star

3D likeness based on its real data · class G · ~5,500 K

What is Lambda Octans

λ Octantis lives in the constellation that shelters the south celestial pole, where no bright polar star serves as a guide. It is a binary system about 400 light-years away: a yellowish G8-K0 giant swollen to thirteen times the Sun, joined by a peculiar Am-type companion. Though it does not mark the pole itself, it helps frame the constellation that wraps the southern axis of the sky.

Where it is and when to see it

Lambda Octans 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, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never rises above the horizon.
From New York it never rises above the horizon.
From Sydney it never sets and culminates about 41° up.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 7° N.

It ranks no. 8 in brightness among the 35 stars of Octans in our catalogue. To find it, start from Nu Octans, the brightest: it lies about 5° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 410 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.

Leave your signature on Lambda Octans

Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works

We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.

Write my signature

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 Lambda Octans

Constellation: Octans
Apparent magnitude: 5.27
Distance: 409.3 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 327.726° · Dec -82.719°
Catalogue: HIP 107843 · HD 206240

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Octans

Octans has 35 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 35 stars in Octans