hip-44143

Its story

Only 86 light-years away, in Carina the keel, shines a yellow-white F-type star. The light reaching us tonight set out when the world was discovering the first transatlantic aeroplane flights. Slightly hotter and brighter than the Sun, its almost ivory glow stands out among the trails of the southern hemisphere. Its cosmic nearness makes it a calm neighbour, a discreet lamp lit since the early twentieth century.