Star profile
Chi Aquarii
Variable starWhat is Chi Aquarii
Chi Aquarii is an aged red giant whose variability was announced by Stebbins and Huffer in 1928. It pulses in three overlapping periods — 32, 38 and 45 days — like a stringed instrument tuned to different scales at once. At 613 light-years in the Water Bearer, it has swollen to 142 times the Sun's radius and now shines two thousand five hundred times brighter than the Sun, before continuing its slow decline toward the end.
Where it is and when to see it
Chi Aquarii lies in the southern 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 Chi Aquarii
- Constellation
- Aquarius
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.93
- Distance
- 613.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 349.212° · Dec -7.727°
- Catalogue
- HIP 114939 · HD 219576
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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
- SadalmelikAlpha Aquarii2.95
- SkatDelta Aquarii3.27
- Pi Aquarii4.80
- Sigma Aquarii4.82
- 104 Aquarii4.82
- Omega 1 Aquarii4.97
- Psi 3 Aquarii4.99