
Star profile
Denebola
Beta Leonis · Leo
Nearby starWhat is Denebola
Denebola is «the lion's tail» in Arabic, the point where Leo closes its silhouette in the spring sky and where ancient observers placed the end of the celestial beast. At just 36 light-years, it is a relatively close neighbour of the Sun: white, young and surrounded by a dust disc reminiscent of forming planetary systems still settling into orbits. Its light reaches us almost fresh, recent compared with that of the distant giants sharing the same firmament.
Where it is and when to see it
Denebola lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is March: 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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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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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 Denebola
- Constellation
- Leo
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.14
- Distance
- 35.9 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 177.265° · Dec 14.572°
- Catalogue
- HIP 57632 · HD 102647
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Leo
Leo has 80 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- RegulusAlpha Leonis1.36
- AlgiebaGamma 1 Leonis2.01
- ZosmaDelta Leonis2.56
- Ras Elased AustralisEpsilon Leonis2.97
- ChertanTheta Leonis3.33
- AdhaferaZeta Leonis3.43
- Eta Leonis3.48
- SubraOmicron Leonis3.52