Star profile
HIP 42624
Highly luminous starWhat is HIP 42624
Far away, in the southern constellation of Vela, shines a white star of extraordinary luminosity, outshining the Sun thousands of times over. Its light set out toward us shortly after 1470, while Gutenberg's printing press was still reshaping the world. It belongs to that rare lineage of suns that illuminate immense distances with a calm and steady radiance.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 42624 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, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 2° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 77° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 43° N.
It ranks no. 27 in brightness among the 127 stars of Vela in our catalogue. To find it, start from Gamma 2 Velorum, the brightest: it lies about 5° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 2,500 years ago.
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Leave your signature on HIP 42624
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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 42624
- Constellation
- Vela
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.74
- Distance
- 2548.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 130.305° · Dec -47.317°
- Catalogue
- HIP 42624 · HD 74272
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 454484.63
- HYG 1186324.65
- HIP 438784.68
- HIP 410394.79
- HIP 507994.82