Star profile

HIP 40866

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

What is HIP 40866

In Cancer flickers an orange star, ancient and discreet. Its light crossed more than five centuries before reaching us: it set out around 1463, while Mehmed II completed his hold on Constantinople and Gutenberg's press spread its first books. Cooler than the Sun, its coppery glow rests among the modest stars of the celestial crab.

Where it is and when to see it

HIP 40866 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 culminates about 59° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 70° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 35° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 69° S.

It ranks no. 35 in brightness among the 49 stars of Cancer in our catalogue. To find it, start from Tarf, the brightest: it lies about 12° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 560 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.

Leave your signature on HIP 40866

Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works

We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.

Write my signature

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 40866

Constellation: Cancer
Apparent magnitude: 5.80
Distance: 563.4 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 125.087° · Dec 20.748°
Catalogue: HIP 40866 · HD 69994

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

Other stars in Cancer

Cancer has 49 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 49 stars in Cancer