Star profile
HIP 55657
Hot blue starWhat is HIP 55657
It glitters white-blue in the small southern constellation of Musca, the Fly, about 995 light years away. Its light set out around 1031, when Avicenna was completing his medical treatises and the Christian kingdoms of northern Iberia were beginning to push the frontier south. B-type, scorching at the surface and electric in pulse, it radiates with the intensity proper to young stars. A steady spark skirting the southern celestial pole.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 55657 lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is May, 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 never sets and culminates about 52° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 18° N.
It ranks no. 19 in brightness among the 31 stars of Musca in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Musca, the brightest: it lies about 7° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 990 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 55657
- Constellation
- Musca
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.55
- Distance
- 994.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 171.047° · Dec -72.257°
- Catalogue
- HIP 55657 · HD 99264
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Musca
Musca has 31 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Musca2.69
- Beta Musca3.04
- Delta Musca3.61
- HIP 591515.17
- HIP 588845.34
- Theta Musca5.44
- HIP 626085.55
- HIP 655225.65