Star profile
HIP 40772
Variable starWhat is HIP 40772
In the Great Bear shines a yellow star at 462 light years whose light departed around 1564, the year of Galileo Galilei's birth in Pisa. It is a variable class G star: its brightness changes over time following a slow heartbeat, a cosmic breathing that sets it apart from its solar relative and turns it into a restless beacon among the seven stars of the Plough.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 40772 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 79° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 68° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 27° S.
It ranks no. 87 in brightness among the 124 stars of Ursa Major in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alioth, the brightest: it lies about 34° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 460 years ago.
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Astronomical data for HIP 40772
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.73
- Distance
- 462.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 124.822° · Dec 62.507°
- Catalogue
- HIP 40772 · HD 69148
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Other stars in Ursa Major
Ursa Major has 124 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AliothEpsilon Ursae Majoris1.76
- DubheAlpha Ursae Majoris1.81
- AlkaidEta Ursae Majoris1.85
- HIP 545225.71
- 5 Ursae Majoris5.72
- HIP 475945.72
- HIP 507865.73
- HIP 533775.73