hip-33827

Its story

In the silent giraffe of Camelopardalis, almost touching the north celestial pole, glows this orange K-type star. Its light set out around 509 years ago, near 1517, when Luther nailed his 95 theses and split Europe in two forever. Cooler than the Sun yet bulkier, it offers a serene coppery tone. The constellation that shelters it was drawn in the 17th century to fill a sky nearly empty of bright stars; it is one of its faithful points, a modest circumpolar beacon.