Star profile
HIP 51986
What is HIP 51986
She gleams white in Vela, the sail of that mythic ship gliding across the southern sky. Her light took 87 years to arrive —it left when Europe was emerging from the Great War and the sound barrier had yet to be broken. A type A star, young and clean, sustained by the plain geometry of nuclear combustion.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 51986 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 1° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 76° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 42° N.
It ranks no. 12 in brightness among the 127 stars of Vela in our catalogue. To find it, start from Gamma 2 Velorum, the brightest: it lies about 25° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 88 years ago.
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Leave your signature on HIP 51986
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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 51986
- Constellation
- Vela
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.84
- Distance
- 87.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 159.326° · Dec -48.226°
- Catalogue
- HIP 51986 · HD 92139
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
- Psi Velorum3.60
- HIP 445113.75
- HIP 425703.77
- HIP 501913.85
- HIP 430233.87