Star profile
HIP 70300
Variable starWhat is HIP 70300
Deep in the southern Centaur burns a blue-white star whose light set out 457 years ago, around the time Galileo first turned his spyglass to the sky. Its brilliance is not constant —it pulses with a slow, breathing cadence—, the signature of hot youth and inner restlessness. Far more massive and luminous than the Sun, it belongs to the type-B embers that burn quickly and brilliantly. To watch it is to witness a brief cosmic adolescence.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 70300 lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is May, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 10° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 84° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 50° N.
It ranks no. 36 in brightness among the 174 stars of Centaurus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rigil Kentaurus, the brightest: it lies about 21° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 460 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 HIP 70300
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.41
- Distance
- 457.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 215.759° · Dec -39.512°
- Catalogue
- HIP 70300 · HD 125823
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Centaurus
Centaurus has 174 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Rigil KentaurusAlpha 1 Centauri-0.01
- HadarBeta Centauri0.61
- TolimanAlpha 2 Centauri1.35
- HIP 628674.33
- Upsilon 2 Centauri4.34
- Chi Centauri4.36
- HIP 591734.46
- HIP 578034.47