Star profile
HIP 50555
Variable starWhat is HIP 50555
Deep within Vela beats a K-class variable whose light pulses with the slowness of ancient things. Some 1,850 light-years away, the glow arriving tonight set off in the High Middle Ages, while European monasteries were copying the last hand-lettered manuscripts before the printing press. It dims and brightens unnoticed —its own quiet breathing.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 50555 lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is April, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it never rises above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 69° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 35° N.
It ranks no. 23 in brightness among the 127 stars of Vela in our catalogue. To find it, start from Gamma 2 Velorum, the brightest: it lies about 22° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 1,900 years ago.
It opens in your browser. Free, no account, nothing to install.
Leave your signature on HIP 50555
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 HIP 50555
- Constellation
- Vela
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.59
- Distance
- 1853.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 154.903° · Dec -55.029°
- Catalogue
- HIP 50555 · HD 89682
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
- SuhailLambda Velorum2.23
- HIP 441914.45
- HIP 506764.50
- HIP 483744.58
- HIP 454484.63
- HYG 1186324.65