Star profile
HIP 72573
Northern polar starWhat is HIP 72573
In Ursa Minor, very close to the celestial north pole, rests a yellow white class F star: slightly hotter than the Sun, set in a region that barely moves for northern observers. Its light has been on the road for 141 years: it left when Maxwell was publishing his equations of electromagnetism, unwittingly founding the era of radio and the whole of modern physics.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 72573 lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is January, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 59° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 48° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 7° S.
It ranks no. 18 in brightness among the 25 stars of Ursa Minor in our catalogue. To find it, start from Polaris, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 140 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 72573
- Constellation
- Ursa Minor
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.63
- Distance
- 141.2 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 222.582° · Dec 82.512°
- Catalogue
- HIP 72573 · HD 133002
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Ursa Minor
Ursa Minor has 25 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- PolarisAlpha Ursae Minoris1.97
- KochabBeta Ursae Minoris2.07
- PherkadGamma Ursae Minoris3.00
- 19 Ursae Minoris5.48
- HIP 664355.50
- HIP 804805.55
- HIP 765195.65
- HIP 786615.73