Star profile
Psi Velorum
What is Psi Velorum
Psi Velorum is a tightly bound pair: two yellow-white F-type stars circling a common centre every 34 years, close enough that resolving them needs a careful telescope. At 61 light-years it is one of the nearest naked-eye binaries in the southern sky, set within the hull of the old ship Argo. The dance traced today is the same rhythm decoded by twentieth-century astronomy.
Where it is and when to see it
Psi Velorum 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 culminates about 9° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 83° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 50° N.
It ranks no. 9 in brightness among the 127 stars of Vela in our catalogue. To find it, start from Gamma 2 Velorum, the brightest: it lies about 16° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 61 years ago.
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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 Psi Velorum
- Constellation
- Vela
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.60
- Distance
- 61.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 142.675° · Dec -40.467°
- Catalogue
- HIP 46651 · HD 82434
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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 467013.16
- Phi Velorum3.52
- Omicron Velorum3.60
- HIP 445113.75
- HIP 425703.77