Star profile
HIP 15520
Variable starWhat is HIP 15520
In Camelopardalis —the forgotten giraffe of the northern sky— there shines a blue-white star that never burns quite the same. Its light, dispatched some seven hundred sixty-two years ago, set out when Marco Polo was returning from China with impossible tales. A B-type variable, it is a hot forge that breathes to its own rhythm, wavering as if hesitating between intensities. Far more massive than the Sun, it reminds us that even the steadiest stars pulse when observed with patience.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 15520 lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is November, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 76° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 65° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 24° S.
It ranks no. 9 in brightness among the 75 stars of Camelopardalis in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Camelopardalis, the brightest: it lies about 13° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 760 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 15520
- Constellation
- Camelopardalis
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.74
- Distance
- 762.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 49.997° · Dec 65.652°
- Catalogue
- HIP 15520 · HD 20336
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Camelopardalis
Camelopardalis has 75 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Beta Camelopardalis4.03
- HIP 162284.21
- Alpha Camelopardalis4.26
- HIP 162814.55
- HIP 336944.55
- Gamma Camelopardalis4.59
- HIP 299974.76
- HIP 175874.78