Star profile
Chara
Beta Canum Venaticorum · Canes Venatici
Nearby starWhat is Chara
Chara is one of the closest naked-eye neighbours we have: a quiet, yellow G-type star very similar to the Sun, just 27.5 light-years away. Its name means 'joy' in Greek, and it formed part of the two hunting hounds — Asterion and Chara — that chase the Great Bear across the northern sky. Tonight's light set out in 1998, the year the International Space Station first opened to humans.
Where it is and when to see it
Chara 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 Chara
- Constellation
- Canes Venatici
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.24
- Distance
- 27.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 188.436° · Dec 41.357°
- Catalogue
- HIP 61317 · HD 109358
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Canes Venatici
Canes Venatici has 33 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Cor CaroliAlpha 2 Canum Venaticorum2.89
- 24 Canum Venaticorum4.68
- 20 Canum Venaticorum4.72
- 5 Canum Venaticorum4.76
- HIP 676654.76
- 25 Canum Venaticorum4.82
- HIP 662574.91
- HIP 645404.94