Star profile
Beta Octans
Southern polar starWhat is Beta Octans
Beta Octantis is one of the more useful beacons of the southern polar sky: the south celestial pole lies inside the Octant, and this white A-type star, 149 light-years away, ranks among its steadier references. There is no proper southern Polaris —faint Sigma Octantis only plays the role in name— so the few relatively bright stars of the Octant, this one among them, help travellers orient themselves in an almost empty patch of sky.
Where it is and when to see it
Beta 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 43° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 9° N.
It ranks no. 2 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 150 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 Beta Octans
- Constellation
- Octans
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.13
- Distance
- 149.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 341.515° · Dec -81.382°
- Catalogue
- HIP 112405 · HD 214846
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
- Delta Octans4.31
- Theta Octans4.78
- Epsilon Octans5.09
- Gamma 1 Octans5.10
- Alpha Octans5.13
- Lambda Octans5.27
- Gamma 3 Octans5.29