Star profile
HIP 53773
What is HIP 53773
A white A-type beacon burns deep within Vela, the unfurled sail of the ancient ship Argo cast upon southern skies. Its glow travelled close to 196 years to reach this moment —it departed as the nineteenth century yielded to the twentieth and the first motorcars rattled along Europe's cobbled streets. Hotter than the Sun, it sheds a crisp, serene, almost bluish light that on clear nights traces one of the many scattered jewels of this seafaring constellation.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 53773 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 7° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 82° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 48° N.
It ranks no. 19 in brightness among the 127 stars of Vela in our catalogue. To find it, start from Gamma 2 Velorum, the brightest: it lies about 30° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 200 years ago.
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Leave your signature on HIP 53773
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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 53773
- Constellation
- Vela
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.37
- Distance
- 196.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 165.039° · Dec -42.226°
- Catalogue
- HIP 53773 · HD 95370
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 423124.11
- HIP 521544.29
- HIP 471754.34
- HIP 441914.45
- HIP 506764.50