Star profile
Suhail
Lambda Velorum · Vela
Variable starWhat is Suhail
Suhail sails through the southern constellation Vela —the ancient remnants of Jason's ship Argo—, an orange giant variable some 544 light-years away. Its name, from the Arabic «suhayl», once referred to several bright southern stars that guided desert caravans home through long nights. Today it belongs to her alone, beating gently above the skies of the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, beyond the reach of European observers.
Where it is and when to see it
Suhail 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: 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 Suhail
- Constellation
- Vela
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.23
- Distance
- 544.6 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 136.999° · Dec -43.433°
- Catalogue
- HIP 44816 · HD 78647
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
- MarkebKappa Velorum2.47
- Mu Velorum2.69
- HIP 467013.16
- Phi Velorum3.52
- Omicron Velorum3.60
- Psi Velorum3.60