Star profile

1 Lynx

Variable star

3D likeness based on its real data · class M · ~3,200 K

What is 1 Lynx

1 Lyncis is a red M-type giant, an old swollen star that varies slowly at some 638 light-years away. It inhabits Lynx, the subtle constellation Hevelius traced in the late seventeenth century as a challenge to eyesight —only a lynx, he said, could discern it—. Its reddish, throbbing light set out while Gothic cathedrals were still being carved, and crosses the dark with the calm of a star nearing the end of its road.

Where it is and when to see it

1 Lynx 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 80° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 69° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 28° S.

It ranks no. 15 in brightness among the 60 stars of Lynx in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Lynx, the brightest: it lies about 40° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 640 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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Leave your signature on 1 Lynx

Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

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Write my signature

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 1 Lynx

Constellation: Lynx
Apparent magnitude: 5.01
Distance: 638.4 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 94.478° · Dec 61.515°
Catalogue: HIP 29919 · HD 42973

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Lynx

Lynx has 60 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 60 stars in Lynx