Star profile
Gamma 2 Octans
Southern polar starWhat is Gamma 2 Octans
Gamma-2 Octantis lies 305 light-years away, in the constellation that holds the south celestial pole: the Octant, where no bright polar star answers the one in the north. It is a K0 III orange giant, ten and a half times the Sun's radius, fifty-two times its light, receding at 27 km/s. A warm light that wheels with extreme slowness around an empty point in the sky — the true southern axis of the visible universe.
Where it is and when to see it
Gamma 2 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 42° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 8° N.
It ranks no. 23 in brightness among the 35 stars of Octans in our catalogue. To find it, start from Nu Octans, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 310 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 Gamma 2 Octans
- Constellation
- Octans
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.72
- Distance
- 305.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 359.387° · Dec -82.170°
- Catalogue
- HIP 118114 · HD 224362
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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
- Pi 1 Octans5.65
- Pi 2 Octans5.65
- HIP 75685.66
- HIP 1171255.74
- HIP 1014275.76