Star profile
HIP 4200
Variable starWhat is HIP 4200
Seven hundred and twelve light years to the south, in Tucana, pulses a variable red M-class giant. The light gathered today set off around 1314, in the late Middle Ages, when the Templars were being dissolved by the king of France. Its warm tone and irregular pulse betray an old, dilated star, swinging between maxima and minima over months or years.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 4200 lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is August, 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 61° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 27° N.
It ranks no. 22 in brightness among the 28 stars of Tucana in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Tucanae, the brightest: it lies about 18° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 710 years ago.
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Astronomical data for HIP 4200
- Constellation
- Tucana
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.73
- Distance
- 712.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 13.408° · Dec -62.871°
- Catalogue
- HIP 4200 · HD 5276
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Other stars in Tucana
Tucana has 28 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Tucanae2.87
- Gamma Tucanae3.99
- Zeta Tucanae4.23
- HIP 1149485.64
- HIP 1159085.66
- HIP 1170885.73
- HIP 31705.89
- HIP 1180925.95