Star profile

26 Lynx

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

What is 26 Lynx

26 Lyncis burns orange in a constellation named in the seventeenth century by Hevelius, who claimed only a lynx's eyes could pick out its stars. About 841 light-years away, its light departed when Europe was still stitching gunpowder to its earliest firearms. K-class and cool, it is a giant that tints the telescopic field a muted copper, lost among faint neighbours in a sky region scarce in bright landmarks.

Where it is and when to see it

26 Lynx lies in the northern 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 never sets and culminates about 86° up.
From New York it culminates about 83° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 9° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 42° S.

It ranks no. 28 in brightness among the 60 stars of Lynx in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Lynx, the brightest: it lies about 21° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 840 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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Leave your signature on 26 Lynx

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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 26 Lynx

Constellation: Lynx
Apparent magnitude: 5.47
Distance: 840.7 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 118.678° · Dec 47.565°
Catalogue: HIP 38639 · HD 64144

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

Other stars in Lynx

Lynx has 60 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 60 stars in Lynx