Star profile

Alpha Monocerotis

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Alpha Monocerotis

Alpha Monocerotis presides over the modest constellation of the Unicorn, drawn in the seventeenth century on a patch of sky the ancients had left unfigured, right between Canis Major, Canis Minor, and Orion. An orange type K giant some 148 light-years away, its warm tone contrasts with the blazing blue of its neighbours. It marks the discreet heart of a mythical creature that rides among some of the most spectacular star fields of the winter sky.

Where it is and when to see it

Alpha Monocerotis 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.

Find it on the sky map

It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.

The signature wall

Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works

If you don't have an account yet, we'll ask for an email to confirm it's you: we send you a link and that's it, no password.

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 Alpha Monocerotis

Constellation: Monoceros
Apparent magnitude: 3.94
Distance: 147.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 115.312° · Dec -9.551°
Catalogue: HIP 37447 · HD 61935

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

Other stars in Monoceros

Monoceros has 71 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 71 stars in Monoceros