
Star profile
HIP 72296
What is HIP 72296
Centaurus, the legendary celestial centaur, hosts about 501 light years away an orange K-type star. Its light departed around 1525, during the reign of Charles V, when Spanish conquistadors were consolidating their presence in the New World. Cooler than the Sun, its amber tone betrays a more adult stage of stellar life, when the outer layers begin to expand. The great southern constellation, also home to Alpha Centauri, lends it a sky loaded with bright jewels, in which it occupies a discreet but dignified place.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 72296 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: 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 HIP 72296
- Constellation
- Centaurus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.90
- Distance
- 501.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 221.771° · Dec -38.291°
- Catalogue
- HIP 72296 · HD 130055
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 630335.89
- HIP 724325.89
- HIP 645155.90
- HIP 628615.91
- HIP 645805.91