Star profile
Menkib
Xi Persei · Perseus
Variable starWhat is Menkib
Menkib is a rare blue O-type star, a hot variable supergiant some 1,245 light-years from the Earth in the constellation Perseus. Stars of its class are so massive they live only a few million years before erupting as supernovae, a short and violent existence in cosmic terms. Its Arabic name means «the shoulder»: it marks that of Perseus himself, the hero who in Greek myth cut off Medusa's head and rescued Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus in a single famous and decisive feat.
Where it is and when to see it
Menkib 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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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 Menkib
- Constellation
- Perseus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.98
- Distance
- 1245.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 59.741° · Dec 35.791°
- Catalogue
- HIP 18614 · HD 24912
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Perseus
Perseus has 99 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- MirfakAlpha Persei1.79
- AlgolBeta Persei2.09
- Zeta Persei2.84
- AtikOmicron Persei3.84
- Tau Persei3.93
- 48 Persei3.96
- Phi Persei4.01
- Iota Persei4.05