Star profile
Nihal
Beta Leporis · Lepus
What is Nihal
Nihal is the second light of Lepus, the Hare, lying just at the feet of the hunter Orion. Its Arabic name «al-nihāl» evokes a group of camels quenching their thirst at a spring, a pastoral image the desert astronomers carried up to the sky. It is a yellow giant 160 light-years away; when you look at it, remember that its golden tone is the same as a Sun on the edge of maturity.
Where it is and when to see it
Nihal lies in the southern 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 culminates about 18° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 29° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 77° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 69° N.
It ranks no. 2 in brightness among the 45 stars of Lepus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Arneb, the brightest: it lies about 3° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 160 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 Nihal
- Constellation
- Lepus
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.81
- Distance
- 160.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 82.061° · Dec -20.759°
- Catalogue
- HIP 25606 · HD 36079
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Other stars in Lepus
Lepus has 45 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- ArnebAlpha Leporis2.58
- Epsilon Leporis3.19
- Mu Leporis3.29
- Zeta Leporis3.55
- Gamma Leporis3.59
- Eta Leporis3.71
- Delta Leporis3.76
- Lambda Leporis4.29