Star profile
Tonatiuh
What is Tonatiuh
Tonatiuh takes its name from the Mexica sun god, in the IAU campaign that assigned Mesoamerican names to stars hosting planets. It is a yellow giant in Camelopardalis, the celestial giraffe, one of the emptiest constellations in the northern sky. At 317 light-years, its golden light crossed space over the same span in which three centuries of human civilisations followed one another, without it varying its brightness in any noticeable way.
Where it is and when to see it
Tonatiuh lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is January, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 65° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 54° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 13° S.
It ranks no. 58 in brightness among the 75 stars of Camelopardalis in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Camelopardalis, the brightest: it lies about 35° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 320 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 Tonatiuh
- Constellation
- Camelopardalis
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.78
- Distance
- 316.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 181.312° · Dec 76.906°
- Catalogue
- HIP 58952 · HD 104985
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Camelopardalis
Camelopardalis has 75 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Beta Camelopardalis4.03
- HIP 162284.21
- Alpha Camelopardalis4.26
- HIP 229365.75
- HIP 319405.75
- 1 Camelopardalis5.78
- HIP 175855.79
- HIP 182175.80