Star profile
Omicron Velorum
Variable starWhat is Omicron Velorum
Omicron Velorum is the brightest star of the open cluster IC 2391, a small constellation within the constellation: dozens of young suns, siblings born from the same cloud, scattered against the field of Vela. Hot and blue, only tens of millions of years old, it sits at the centre of a swarm that the unaided eye still picks up as a faint patch under dark southern skies.
Where it is and when to see it
Omicron Velorum lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is March, 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 culminates about 71° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 37° N.
It ranks no. 8 in brightness among the 127 stars of Vela in our catalogue. To find it, start from Gamma 2 Velorum, the brightest: it lies about 7° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 490 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Omicron Velorum
- Constellation
- Vela
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.60
- Distance
- 493.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 130.073° · Dec -52.922°
- Catalogue
- HIP 42536 · HD 74195
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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
- Mu Velorum2.69
- HIP 467013.16
- Phi Velorum3.52
- Psi Velorum3.60
- HIP 445113.75