Star profile
Xi Octans
Variable starWhat is Xi Octans
Xi Octantis is a blue-white star roughly 46 million years old, in the southern constellation of the Octant — that mariner's wheel of an instrument that hides the celestial south pole. At 493 light-years, it pulses faintly: its magnitude wavers between 5.32 and 5.36, a variability uncovered by the Hipparcos mission. It shines with 360 solar luminosities at over 14,000 kelvin, a cold and steady glow near the axis of the southern sky.
Where it is and when to see it
Xi 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: 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 Xi Octans
- Constellation
- Octans
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.32
- Distance
- 492.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 342.595° · Dec -80.124°
- Catalogue
- HIP 112781 · HD 215573
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
- Lambda Octans5.27
- Gamma 3 Octans5.29
- Chi Octans5.29
- Zeta Octans5.43
- Polaris AustralisSigma Octans5.45