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Star profile

Sigma Sculptor

Variable star
3D likeness based on its real data · class A · ~8,500 K

What is Sigma Sculptor

Sigma Sculptoris is a white A-type variable about two hundred and thirty light-years away, with faint pulsations in its brightness. The Sculptor was another of Lacaille's inventions, dedicated to the artist's workshop, tools included. Sigma shines in that celestial studio where myth steps aside and the patient craft of manual work moves in.

Where it is and when to see it

Sigma Sculptor lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is September, when it culminates around midnight.

  • From London it culminates about 7° above the horizon.
  • From New York it culminates about 18° above the horizon.
  • From Sydney it culminates about 88° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 58° N.

It ranks no. 15 in brightness among the 33 stars of Sculptor in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Sculptor, the brightest: it lies about 2° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 230 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.

Leave your signature on Sigma Sculptor

Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.

Without a lock, someone else can replace your signature. How the lock works

We'll ask for an email to confirm it's you, no password.

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 Sigma Sculptor

Constellation
Sculptor
Apparent magnitude
5.50
Distance
232.3 light years
Coordinates (J2000)
RA 15.610° · Dec -31.552°
Catalogue
HIP 4852 · HD 6178

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Sculptor

Sculptor has 33 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 33 stars in Sculptor