Star profile
Alpha Dorado
Variable starWhat is Alpha Dorado
Alpha Doradus reigns as the brightest jewel of Dorado, a southern constellation that frames the Large Magellanic Cloud just a degree away. At 169 light-years, it is a blue-white giant of type A, faintly variable, with a close companion detected by interferometry whose orbit closes in barely a dozen years. Its young, hot light has long served those who steer by southern skies.
Where it is and when to see it
Alpha Dorado lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is October, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it never rises above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 69° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 35° N.
It is the brightest of the 18 stars of Dorado in our catalogue, which makes it the best starting point for finding your way around the constellation.
The light you see today left it about 170 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 Alpha Dorado
- Constellation
- Dorado
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.30
- Distance
- 168.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 68.499° · Dec -55.045°
- Catalogue
- HIP 21281 · HD 29305
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Other stars in Dorado
Dorado has 18 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Beta Dorado3.76
- Gamma Dorado4.26
- Delta Dorado4.34
- HIP 278904.65
- Zeta Dorado4.71
- Theta Dorado4.81
- Eta 2 Dorado5.01
- Nu Dorado5.06