Star profile
Markab
Alpha Pegasi · Pegasus
Hot blue starWhat is Markab
Markab rides on Pegasus's shoulder, a hot blue-white star 133 light-years away that traces one of the four corners of the famous autumn Square. Its name, from the Arabic «mankib», means precisely «shoulder» or «saddle», and helped the astronomers of the caliphate locate the winged horse in the night. When the shipyards of the Mediterranean were still carving oak, its light had already begun this journey.
Where it is and when to see it
Markab lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is September: 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 Markab
- Constellation
- Pegasus
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.49
- Distance
- 133.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 346.190° · Dec 15.205°
- Catalogue
- HIP 113963 · HD 218045
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Pegasus
Pegasus has 98 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- EnifEpsilon Pegasi2.38
- ScheatBeta Pegasi2.44
- AlgenibGamma Pegasi2.83
- MatarEta Pegasi2.93
- HomamZeta Pegasi3.41
- SadalbariMu Pegasi3.51
- BihamTheta Pegasi3.52
- Iota Pegasi3.77