
Star profile
Eta Circinus
What is Eta Circinus
η Circini is a yellow G-type giant in the Compass, a small constellation drawn by Lacaille in the 18th century alongside the Ruler and the Southern Triangle, as a tribute to the geometer's instruments. Its warm light —akin to the Sun's but more mature and luminous— travels nearly three centuries before crossing the far southern sky.
Where it is and when to see it
Eta Circinus 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 Eta Circinus
- Constellation
- Circinus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.16
- Distance
- 276.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 226.200° · Dec -64.031°
- Catalogue
- HIP 73776 · HD 132905
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Circinus
Circinus has 21 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Circinus3.18
- Beta Circinus4.07
- Gamma Circinus4.48
- Epsilon Circinus4.85
- Delta Circinus5.04
- Theta Circinus5.08
- HIP 730365.18
- HIP 721315.36