Star profile
Alchiba
Alpha Corvi · Corvus
Nearby starWhat is Alchiba
Alchiba means «the tent» or «the encampment» in Arabic, a vivid trace of the night sky as the everyday map of desert peoples, where each star was a familiar reference of home. It is a yellowish-white star just 49 light-years away, a relatively close solar neighbour that quietly adorns the small constellation of Corvus, the Crow. Its light, brief in cosmic terms, still arrives with the immediate freshness of events lived through by our parents and grandparents.
Where it is and when to see it
Alchiba 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, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 14° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 25° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 81° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 65° N.
It ranks no. 5 in brightness among the 18 stars of Corvus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Gienah, the brightest: it lies about 7° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 49 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 Alchiba
- Constellation
- Corvus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.02
- Distance
- 48.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 182.103° · Dec -24.729°
- Catalogue
- HIP 59199 · HD 105452
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Other stars in Corvus
Corvus has 18 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- GienahGamma Corvi2.58
- KrazBeta Corvi2.65
- AlgorabDelta Corvi2.94
- Epsilon Corvi3.02
- Eta Corvi4.30
- HIP 602215.14
- HIP 619105.17
- Zeta Corvi5.20