Star profile
HIP 26868
Variable starWhat is HIP 26868
In modest Columba —the dove released by Noah, according to sixteenth-century cartographers— shines this B-type variable, bluish-white and hot. The light we see tonight set out 428 years ago: as it left, Cervantes had just returned from his captivity in Algiers and had not yet dreamt up Don Quixote.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 26868 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 4° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 15° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 89° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 55° N.
It ranks no. 15 in brightness among the 45 stars of Columba in our catalogue. To find it, start from Phact, the brightest: it lies about 1° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 430 years ago.
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Astronomical data for HIP 26868
- Constellation
- Columba
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.29
- Distance
- 428.6 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 85.563° · Dec -34.668°
- Catalogue
- HIP 26868 · HD 38170
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Other stars in Columba
Columba has 45 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- PhactAlpha Columbae2.65
- WaznBeta Columbae3.12
- Delta Columbae3.85
- Mu Columbae5.18
- HIP 311655.25
- Nu 2 Columbae5.28
- HIP 312995.42
- HIP 266495.44