Star profile
HIP 56518
Variable starWhat is HIP 56518
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.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 56518 lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is April: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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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 56518
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.64
- Distance
- 721.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 173.805° · Dec -47.373°
- Catalogue
- HIP 56518 · HD 100733
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Centaurus
Centaurus has 174 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Rigil KentaurusAlpha 1 Centauri-0.01
- HadarBeta Centauri0.61
- TolimanAlpha 2 Centauri1.35
- HIP 640035.63
- HIP 664385.63
- HIP 563195.64
- HIP 679735.66
- HIP 717835.67