Star profile
HIP 71280
Variable starWhat is HIP 71280
In the sober silhouette of Boötes, the herdsman who chases the Bear, burns a rare red M-type star. Its light set out around 856 years ago, near 1170, when Slavic peoples were Christianizing their kingdoms and Chrétien de Troyes was writing the first Arthurian romances. Cooler than the Sun yet gigantic, its reddish tone reveals an already very advanced life. Variable, it beats with a slow pulse, swelling and contracting, as if light itself were sustained by its own breath.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 71280 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, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 88° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 81° up.
- From Sydney it culminates about 7° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 41° S.
It ranks no. 65 in brightness among the 88 stars of Boötes in our catalogue. To find it, start from Arcturus, the brightest: it lies about 30° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 860 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 71280
- Constellation
- Boötes
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.74
- Distance
- 856.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 218.665° · Dec 49.368°
- Catalogue
- HIP 71280 · HD 128333
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Boötes
Boötes has 88 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- ArcturusAlpha Boötis-0.05
- IzarEpsilon Boötis2.35
- MuphridEta Boötis2.68
- HIP 720125.72
- HIP 731665.72
- 1 Boötis5.73
- HIP 715685.74
- 10 Boötis5.76