Star profile
Omega Octans
Southern polar starWhat is Omega Octans
Omega Octantis is a solitary blue-white B9.5 star with 2.5 solar masses and 50 times the Sun's luminosity, 317 light-years away in the cold heart around the south celestial pole. Still young, it has burned through only 40% of its main-sequence life. It spins calmly at 36 km/s along its equator, a blue beacon in one of those regions of sky where almost every star is too faint to see.
Where it is and when to see it
Omega Octans lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is June, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it never rises above the horizon.
- From Sydney it never sets and culminates about 39° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 5° N.
It ranks no. 30 in brightness among the 35 stars of Octans in our catalogue. To find it, start from Nu Octans, the brightest: it lies about 14° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 320 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 Omega Octans
- Constellation
- Octans
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.88
- Distance
- 317.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 227.787° · Dec -84.788°
- Catalogue
- HIP 74296 · HD 131596
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Octans
Octans has 35 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Nu Octans3.73
- Beta Octans4.13
- Delta Octans4.31
- Upsilon Octans5.76
- HIP 10745.78
- HIP 1162505.82
- HIP 76015.88
- HIP 1018435.89