Star profile
Upsilon Octans
Southern polar starWhat is Upsilon Octans
Upsilon Octantis lies 324 light-years away in the cartographic heart of the southern polar sky. The Octant, devised by Lacaille, is the constellation that holds the south celestial pole, and all its stars share the rare property of never setting below the horizon for an observer at very southern latitudes. This orange K-type giant is one of the warm points in a region ruled by faint stars and the slow turning of the firmament around the pole.
Where it is and when to see it
Upsilon 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 June: 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 Upsilon Octans
- Constellation
- Octans
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.76
- Distance
- 324.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 337.908° · Dec -85.967°
- Catalogue
- HIP 111196 · HD 211539
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.
- Nu Octans3.73
- Beta Octans4.13
- Delta Octans4.31
- Gamma 2 Octans5.72
- HIP 1171255.74
- HIP 1014275.76
- HIP 10745.78
- HIP 1162505.82