Star profile
HIP 42726
Variable starWhat is HIP 42726
Blue-white and pulsing, 484 light years away in the swelling sails of Vela. A variable star —its brightness breathes with its own beat— whose light set out when Galileo was first turning a telescope toward the moons of Jupiter, around 1541. Its B class places it among the young and hot; the rhythm of its swings, among those still searching for equilibrium.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 42726 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. 30 in brightness among the 127 stars of Vela in our catalogue. To find it, start from Gamma 2 Velorum, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 480 years ago.
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Leave your signature on HIP 42726
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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 42726
- Constellation
- Vela
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.83
- Distance
- 484.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 130.606° · Dec -53.114°
- Catalogue
- HIP 42726 · HD 74560
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 426244.74
- HIP 410394.79
- HIP 507994.82
- HIP 497124.85
- HIP 515234.89