Star profile
Pi 2 Columbae
What is Pi 2 Columbae
Pi-2 Columbae is a white type A star sitting some 243 light-years away, in the Dove —a constellation drawn in the sixteenth century to accompany Argo Navis and recall the bird Noah sent forth from the ark. Its polished light crosses the southern sky in a modest corner, a few degrees south of the great hunter Orion, where the Milky Way still traces its fine filaments of dust.
Where it is and when to see it
Pi 2 Columbae 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 never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 7° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 82° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 48° N.
It ranks no. 19 in brightness among the 45 stars of Columba in our catalogue. To find it, start from Phact, the brightest: it lies about 10° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 240 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 Pi 2 Columbae
- Constellation
- Columba
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.50
- Distance
- 242.9 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 91.970° · Dec -42.154°
- Catalogue
- HIP 29064 · HD 42303
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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
- HIP 312995.42
- HIP 266495.44
- HIP 259935.45
- Sigma Columbae5.52
- HIP 285245.54