Star profile

HIP 56280

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is HIP 56280

Eighty-five light-years from here, within the winding coils of the Hydra, shines a yellow-white type-F star: slightly hotter and brighter than our Sun. Its light set out eighty-five years ago, when the sky still trembled with airships and the world was reordering itself after war. It is a close neighbour in cosmic terms, one of those stable, serene stars that invite imagining worlds in orbit. Its tone is that of a pale noon suspended in the night.

Where it is and when to see it

HIP 56280 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 culminates about 9° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 20° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 85° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 61° N.

It ranks no. 39 in brightness among the 121 stars of Hydra in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alphard, the brightest: it lies about 36° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 86 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 56280

Constellation: Hydra
Apparent magnitude: 4.93
Distance: 85.8 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 173.068° · Dec -29.261°
Catalogue: HIP 56280 · HD 100286

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Hydra

Hydra has 121 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 121 stars in Hydra