Star profile
HIP 40282
Cool red starWhat is HIP 40282
In Vela, the sails of ancient Argo, drifts this red M-type giant 721 light-years from our shore. Its coppery light set out as the Iberian Christian kingdoms were pressing through the Reconquista, even before the founding of the University of Salamanca in 1218. Cooler than the Sun, swollen and amber, it is one of those stars that seem painted with autumn pigment.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 40282 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: 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.
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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
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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 40282
- Constellation
- Vela
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.52
- Distance
- 721.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 123.393° · Dec -50.196°
- Catalogue
- HIP 40282 · HD 69194
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Vela
Vela has 127 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Gamma 2 Velorum1.75
- AlsephinaDelta Velorum1.93
- SuhailLambda Velorum2.23
- HIP 427125.48
- HIP 427155.49
- HIP 472675.51
- HIP 425355.56
- HIP 442995.56