hip-52980

Its story

41 Sextantis is a white A-type star 311 light-years away, in Sextans —a small, unassuming constellation tucked between Hydra and Leo. Hevelius introduced it in the 17th century to honour the measuring instrument he used in his own observations, before the refracting telescope had matured. Its white light, from a surface near nine thousand degrees, crosses a region of sky almost empty to the naked eye.