Star profile
Epsilon Volans
Hot blue starWhat is Epsilon Volans
Epsilon Volantis is not a star but a quadruple system in the southern Flying Fish, about 562 light-years away. The main pair —a B6 blue giant and a B8 companion— orbit each other in just over fourteen days. Six arcseconds away, another spectroscopic binary of two white A-type stars holds its own dance of a few days. Four suns, two couples, one apparent light.
Where it is and when to see it
Epsilon Volans lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is April, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it never rises above the horizon.
- From Sydney it never sets and culminates about 55° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 21° N.
It ranks no. 6 in brightness among the 19 stars of Volans in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Volans, the brightest: it lies about 3° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 560 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 Epsilon Volans
- Constellation
- Volans
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.35
- Distance
- 562.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 121.983° · Dec -68.617°
- Catalogue
- HIP 39794 · HD 68520
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Other stars in Volans
Volans has 19 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Beta Volans3.77
- Gamma 2 Volans3.78
- Zeta Volans3.93
- Delta Volans3.97
- Alpha Volans4.00
- HIP 406805.06
- HIP 336825.18
- Theta Volans5.19