Star profile
Alpha Pyxidis
Hot blue starWhat is Alpha Pyxidis
Alpha Pyxidis is the dominant light of the Mariner's Compass, a late constellation carved out in the eighteenth century by the Frenchman Lacaille. Some 879 light-years away burns a blue B-type giant, pouring out energy that easily exceeds a hundred thousand suns. Its companions from the ancient ship Argo sail beside it across the southern sky, and in this symbolic compass the bluish star serves as a perpetual needle pointing back to the Argonauts' voyage.
Where it is and when to see it
Alpha Pyxidis 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: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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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 Alpha Pyxidis
- Constellation
- Pyxis
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.68
- Distance
- 879.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 130.898° · Dec -33.186°
- Catalogue
- HIP 42828 · HD 74575
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Pyxis
Pyxis has 18 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Beta Pyxidis3.97
- Gamma Pyxidis4.02
- Kappa Pyxidis4.62
- Theta Pyxidis4.71
- Lambda Pyxidis4.71
- Zeta Pyxidis4.86
- Delta Pyxidis4.87
- HIP 424305.05