Star profile
HIP 115990
Variable starWhat is HIP 115990
Cassiopeia is recognised from childhood by its double-v shape, and among its points blinks this blue-white star — a beacon so hot that its brightness shifts irregularly with time. Its light travelled some 621 years to reach us, setting out as Europe was beginning to swap hand-copied manuscripts for the first printing presses. Far more massive and luminous than our Sun, it pulses to its own cadence, true to the restlessness that young, energetic B-type stars carry within them.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 115990 lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is October, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 83° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 72° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 31° S.
It ranks no. 26 in brightness among the 93 stars of Cassiopeia in our catalogue. To find it, start from Cih, the brightest: it lies about 11° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 620 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 HIP 115990
- Constellation
- Cassiopeia
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.89
- Distance
- 621.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 352.508° · Dec 58.549°
- Catalogue
- HIP 115990 · HD 221253
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Other stars in Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia has 93 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- CihGamma Cassiopeiae2.15
- SchedarAlpha Cassiopeiae2.24
- CaphBeta Cassiopeiae2.28
- HIP 148624.85
- Tau Cassiopeiae4.88
- Sigma Cassiopeiae4.88
- Nu Cassiopeiae4.90
- Pi Cassiopeiae4.95