Star profile
HIP 636
What is HIP 636
The Whale, Cetus, that great sea-monster of the equatorial sky, harbours this white A-class star. Its light departed around 1770, the year Tiepolo died in Madrid and the teenage composer Mozart made his first public appearances in Italy. More than two and a half centuries later, that white glow crosses the monster's back and lands in our sensors.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 636 lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is September, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 16° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 27° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 79° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 67° N.
It ranks no. 101 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 10° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 260 years ago.
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Leave your signature on HIP 636
Your name and a message go up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
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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 HIP 636
- Constellation
- Cetus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.93
- Distance
- 255.6 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 1.945° · Dec -22.509°
- Catalogue
- HIP 636 · HD 319
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Cetus
Cetus has 111 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- DiphdaBeta Ceti2.04
- MenkarAlpha Ceti2.54
- Eta Ceti3.46
- HIP 38345.90
- HIP 65645.92
- 34 Ceti5.93
- 63 Ceti5.94
- 14 Ceti5.94