Star profile
HIP 38455
Variable starWhat is HIP 38455
It shines in Puppis, a fragment of the ancient ship Argo, with the bluish-white blaze proper to B-class stars. Its light set out around 648 years ago, when Europe was stepping into the Renaissance and Florentine workshops were rehearsing a new way of looking at the world. It is a variable that pulses faintly, reminding us that no brilliance ever stays perfectly still. Against the Sun it unfolds a far greater intensity —a southern beacon in a constellation born from the fire of modern astronomers.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 38455 lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is February, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 10° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 85° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 51° N.
It ranks no. 24 in brightness among the 145 stars of Puppis in our catalogue. To find it, start from Naos, the brightest: it lies about 2° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 650 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 38455
- Constellation
- Puppis
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.49
- Distance
- 648.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 118.161° · Dec -38.863°
- Catalogue
- HIP 38455 · HD 64503
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 407064.44
- HIP 389574.47
- HIP 348344.49
- HIP 370964.53
- HIP 390954.61