Star profile
HIP 51502
Northern polar starWhat is HIP 51502
In Camelopardalis, very near the celestial north pole where stars trace endless circles, lives an F-type yellow-white star. Its light crossed seventy years of darkness: it set out when the twentieth century was deep in the Cold War and humanity had not yet seen the whole Earth from outside. Slightly hotter than the Sun, it glows with the tone of a clean wax candle. Because of its near-polar position, it wheels in silence without ever leaving the horizon, watchful through the entire night.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 51502 lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is January, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 59° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 48° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 7° S.
It ranks no. 28 in brightness among the 75 stars of Camelopardalis in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Camelopardalis, the brightest: it lies about 29° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 70 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 HIP 51502
- Constellation
- Camelopardalis
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.25
- Distance
- 70.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 157.771° · Dec 82.559°
- Catalogue
- HIP 51502 · HD 90089
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Camelopardalis
Camelopardalis has 75 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Beta Camelopardalis4.03
- HIP 162284.21
- Alpha Camelopardalis4.26
- 31 Camelopardalis5.20
- 11 Camelopardalis5.22
- 16 Camelopardalis5.24
- HIP 202665.26
- 4 Camelopardalis5.29