Star profile
Beta Camelopardalis
Highly luminous starWhat is Beta Camelopardalis
β Camelopardalis wanders close to the north celestial pole, within the silent giraffe that circles Polaris. It is a yellow supergiant about 870 light-years away, paired with a fainter A-type companion. Yet it carries an oddity: for an evolved supergiant it spins far too fast, and astronomers suspect it may once have swallowed an entire planet.
Where it is and when to see it
Beta Camelopardalis 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 81° 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 30° S.
It is the brightest of the 75 stars of Camelopardalis 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 870 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 Beta Camelopardalis
- Constellation
- Camelopardalis
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.03
- Distance
- 872.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 75.855° · Dec 60.442°
- Catalogue
- HIP 23522 · HD 31910
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Other stars in Camelopardalis
Camelopardalis has 75 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- HIP 162284.21
- Alpha Camelopardalis4.26
- HIP 178844.39
- 7 Camelopardalis4.43
- HIP 162814.55
- HIP 336944.55
- Gamma Camelopardalis4.59
- HIP 155204.74