Star profile
Minelauva
Delta Virginis · Virgo
Cool red starWhat is Minelauva
Minelauva is a red giant 198 light-years from the Earth, in the constellation Virgo, somewhat removed from the better-known figures of the spring sky. The name comes from the Arabic «al-`auwa», the barkers: a small group of stars that astronomers in Baghdad imagined as watchful dogs of the firmament, guarding the celestial flocks at night. Its cool, ancient light has been crossing European spring skies since the very time when Cervantes was finishing the first part of «Don Quixote» at a Madrid printing house already saturated with popular orders.
Where it is and when to see it
Minelauva lies in the northern 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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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 Minelauva
- Constellation
- Virgo
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.39
- Distance
- 198.4 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 193.901° · Dec 3.397°
- Catalogue
- HIP 63090 · HD 112300
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Virgo
Virgo has 99 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- SpicaAlpha Virginis0.98
- PorrimaGamma Virginis2.74
- VindemiatrixEpsilon Virginis2.85
- HezeZeta Virginis3.38
- Gamma Virginis3.52
- ZavijavaBeta Virginis3.59
- 109 Virginis3.73
- Mu Virginis3.87