Star profile
Sadalmelik
Alpha Aquarii · Aquarius
Highly luminous starWhat is Sadalmelik
Sadalmelik is a yellow supergiant 523 light-years away whose name, from the Arabic «saʿd al-malik», means «the king's luck». It shines as the main light of Aquarius, the Water Bearer, pouring his stream across the autumn sky. Modest as it looks to the naked eye, in luminosity it equals thousands of suns: distance, not its flame, dims it. When this light set out, Europe was still debating the heliocentric theory.
Where it is and when to see it
Sadalmelik lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is August, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 38° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 49° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 56° above the horizon.
It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from nearly the whole planet.
It ranks no. 2 in brightness among the 99 stars of Aquarius in our catalogue. To find it, start from Sadalsuud, the brightest: it lies about 10° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 520 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 Sadalmelik
- Constellation
- Aquarius
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.95
- Distance
- 523.6 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 331.446° · Dec -0.320°
- Catalogue
- HIP 109074 · HD 209750
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Other stars in Aquarius
Aquarius has 99 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- SadalsuudBeta Aquarii2.90
- SkatDelta Aquarii3.27
- Zeta 1 Aquarii3.65
- 88 Aquarii3.68
- Lambda Aquarii3.73
- AlbaliEpsilon Aquarii3.78
- SadachbiaGamma Aquarii3.86
- 98 Aquarii3.96