Star profile
Omicron Puppis
Variable starWhat is Omicron Puppis
Omicron Puppis is a hot blue B-type star about 1,418 light-years away, in the Stern of the old Ship Argo —one of the four constellations modern astronomy carved out of that vast mythological vessel of the southern sky—. Its brightness shifts gently, the signature of Be stars, which spin so fast they wrap themselves in an equatorial disk of gas whose emission flares and fades over the years. Every faint flicker is the fingerprint of a rotation pushed almost to the very limit of the star’s own gravity.
Where it is and when to see it
Omicron Puppis 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 13° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 23° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 82° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 64° N.
It ranks no. 15 in brightness among the 145 stars of Puppis in our catalogue. To find it, start from Naos, the brightest: it lies about 14° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 1,400 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Omicron Puppis
- Constellation
- Puppis
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.40
- Distance
- 1418.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 117.022° · Dec -25.937°
- Catalogue
- HIP 38070 · HD 63462
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Puppis
Puppis has 145 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- NaosZeta Puppis2.21
- Pi Puppis2.71
- TureisRho Puppis2.83
- HIP 381644.10
- 11 Puppis4.20
- HIP 385184.22
- 16 Puppis4.40
- HIP 349224.42