hip-56518

Variable star

Its story

A variable red giant in Centaurus, anonymous and immense. Its light has been travelling for 722 years —it set off when Marco Polo was dictating in Genoa the tale of his journey to Cathay— and we finally catch it. Far cooler than the Sun yet hundreds of times more voluminous, it pulses to a long rhythm, swelling and shrinking. Its deep red is the colour of fire when it no longer flames, but breathes.

Constellation: Centaurus
Apparent magnitude: 5.64
Distance: 721.7 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 173.805° · Dec -47.373°
Catalogue: HIP 56518 · HD 100733

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Symbolic commemorative gift — no ownership, no IAU recognition.