Star profile
HIP 18488
Highly luminous starWhat is HIP 18488
On the neck of Camelopardalis shines an orange K-type giant, cast more than 1,460 light-years away. Its light began its journey around the year 563, deep in the early Middle Ages, when Irish copyist monks were illuminating the first gospel books. It is tens of times more luminous than the Sun, a warm beacon whose swollen, calm envelope has crossed fourteen centuries to arrive.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 18488 lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is December, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 80° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 70° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 29° S.
It ranks no. 14 in brightness among the 75 stars of Camelopardalis in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Camelopardalis, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 1,500 years ago.
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Leave your signature on HIP 18488
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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 18488
- Constellation
- Camelopardalis
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.99
- Distance
- 1462.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 59.285° · Dec 61.109°
- Catalogue
- HIP 18488 · HD 24480
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 175874.78
- HIP 365474.92
- HIP 185054.95
- HIP 190185.00
- HIP 172965.06