Star profile
HIP 29263
Variable starWhat is HIP 29263
At 851 light years in the Dove, this red M-type star with a variable nature burns at magnitude 5.54. Its light set out when the Kingdom of Castile was still shaping its frontier with al-Andalus, around the mid-twelfth century. M stars are the coolest and most numerous in the cosmos, and many of them, when they vary, do so because their outer layers contract and expand in slow cycles, tracing a heartbeat visible to patient astronomers.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 29263 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 9° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 84° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 50° N.
It ranks no. 22 in brightness among the 45 stars of Columba in our catalogue. To find it, start from Phact, the brightest: it lies about 9° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 850 years ago.
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Astronomical data for HIP 29263
- Constellation
- Columba
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.54
- Distance
- 851.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 92.543° · Dec -40.354°
- Catalogue
- HIP 29263 · HD 42682
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
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
- Pi 2 Columbae5.50
- Sigma Columbae5.52
- HIP 285245.54
- HIP 298425.54
- HIP 279555.55