Star profile
HIP 31457
What is HIP 31457
The southern Dove, sketched in the sixteenth century by Dutch sailors among the southern constellations, hosts a white star whose light began its journey five hundred and ten years ago, just as Erasmus was publishing his Praise of Folly. Hotter and more luminous than the Sun, its surface near nine thousand degrees lends it a pearly, clean, daylight tone. Barely hinted at by the naked eye, it belongs nonetheless to that small choir of stars which gather and reflect the quiet elegance of pure white.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 31457 lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is January, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 2° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 13° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 87° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 53° N.
It ranks no. 27 in brightness among the 45 stars of Columba in our catalogue. To find it, start from Phact, the brightest: it lies about 12° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 510 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 HIP 31457
- Constellation
- Columba
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.59
- Distance
- 509.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 98.851° · Dec -36.780°
- Catalogue
- HIP 31457 · HD 47144
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
- HIP 279555.55
- HIP 301435.55
- HIP 256085.56
- HIP 277665.62
- HIP 304445.62