Star profile

Epsilon Sextantis

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is Epsilon Sextantis

Epsilon Sextantis is a yellow-white type F star burning some 194 light-years away, in the Sextant —the navigational instrument celebrated by Hevelius in the seventeenth century to honour the very tool with which he measured the sky. It is a discreet constellation set between Leo and Hydra, and Epsilon is one of its few naked-eye stars, a modest homage to the science of practical astronomers.

Where it is and when to see it

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

From London it culminates about 30° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 41° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 64° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 82° N.

It ranks no. 5 in brightness among the 17 stars of Sextans in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Sextantis, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 190 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 Epsilon Sextantis

Constellation: Sextans
Apparent magnitude: 5.25
Distance: 193.5 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 154.408° · Dec -8.069°
Catalogue: HIP 50414 · HD 89254

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

Other stars in Sextans

Sextans has 17 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 17 stars in Sextans