Star profile
HIP 21042
What is HIP 21042
In the long meander of Eridanus glows an orange K-class star, whose light set out some 393 years ago, when the refractor telescopes of Galileo and Kepler were carrying on a dialogue about the earliest observations of Jupiter's moons. K stars are calm elders, golden, with deep atmospheres where the signs of their long history accumulate.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 21042 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 culminates about 3° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 14° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 88° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 54° N.
It ranks no. 125 in brightness among the 129 stars of Eridanus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Achernar, the brightest: it lies about 36° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 390 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 21042
- Constellation
- Eridanus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.95
- Distance
- 393.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 67.668° · Dec -35.654°
- Catalogue
- HIP 21042 · HD 28776
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Eridanus
Eridanus has 129 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AchernarAlpha Eridani0.45
- CursaBeta Eridani2.78
- AcamarTheta 1 Eridani2.88
- HIP 187235.93
- HIP 199965.95
- HIP 208925.95
- 21 Eridani5.97
- 55 Eridani5.98