Star profile

HIP 20161

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is HIP 20161

Within the small constellation Horologium, this nameless orange star shines from 252 light-years away. Its light set off around 1774, when James Watt was patenting the separate condenser and unleashing the Industrial Revolution. Cooler than the Sun and already somewhat swollen, it is a K-type that has begun growing toward the giant phase. Its warm tone calls to mind the embers of a bonfire seen from far away.

Where it is and when to see it

HIP 20161 lies in the southern 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 rises above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 5° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 80° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 46° N.

It ranks no. 8 in brightness among the 18 stars of Horologium in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Horologium, the brightest: it lies about 2° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 250 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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Leave your signature on HIP 20161

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Write my signature

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 20161

Constellation: Horologium
Apparent magnitude: 5.33
Distance: 252.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 64.820° · Dec -44.268°
Catalogue: HIP 20161 · HD 27588

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Horologium

Horologium has 18 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 18 stars in Horologium