Star profile
HIP 16281
Variable starWhat is HIP 16281
When this white light left Camelopardalis some 2,509 years ago, Greek city-states were polishing Solon's laws and Babylon was falling to Cyrus the Great. It belongs to the bright, hot A-type stars, and its glow rises and falls slightly —it is variable—, as though it were breathing. It crosses a region where the celestial giraffe barely outlines its silhouette, almost a secret of the northern sky.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 16281 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 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. 6 in brightness among the 75 stars of Camelopardalis in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Camelopardalis, the brightest: it lies about 12° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 2,500 years ago.
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Astronomical data for HIP 16281
- Constellation
- Camelopardalis
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.55
- Distance
- 2509.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 52.478° · Dec 58.879°
- Catalogue
- HIP 16281 · HD 21389
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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 178844.39
- 7 Camelopardalis4.43
- HIP 336944.55
- Gamma Camelopardalis4.59
- HIP 155204.74