Star profile
Aspidiske
Iota Carinae · Carina
Highly luminous starWhat is Aspidiske
Aspidiske shines in Carina at 765 light-years, a luminous white class-A star whose power makes it a distant lighthouse of the southern sky. Its Greek name means «little shield» and once denoted one of the ornaments of the ship Argo on old celestial charts. The light crossing the atmosphere tonight was already on its way when the English Magna Carta was being signed, and centuries will pass before it fades into other skies.
Where it is and when to see it
Aspidiske 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 Aspidiske
- Constellation
- Carina
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.21
- Distance
- 765.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 139.273° · Dec -59.275°
- Catalogue
- HIP 45556 · HD 80404
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Carina
Carina has 124 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- CanopusAlpha Carinae-0.62
- MiaplacidusBeta Carinae1.67
- AviorEpsilon Carinae1.86
- Theta Carinae2.74
- Upsilon Carinae2.92
- Omega Carinae3.29
- HIP 515763.30
- HIP 503713.39