Star profile
Gamma Coronae Borealis
Variable starWhat is Gamma Coronae Borealis
Gamma Coronae Borealis is a binary star that pulses softly in the diadem of the Northern Crown, about 146 light-years away. It throbs to an extraordinarily brief rhythm —barely 43 minutes per cycle— and was the earliest known Delta Scuti variable with such an early spectral type. Its behaviour is so peculiar that it gave its name to a separate class of variables, the Maia stars, where physical models have yet to fully identify what engine sustains the heartbeat.
Where it is and when to see it
Gamma Coronae Borealis lies in the northern 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 Gamma Coronae Borealis
- Constellation
- Corona Borealis
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.81
- Distance
- 146.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 235.686° · Dec 26.296°
- Catalogue
- HIP 76952 · HD 140436
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Corona Borealis
Corona Borealis has 26 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AlpheccaAlpha Coronae Borealis2.22
- NusakanBeta Coronae Borealis3.66
- Theta Coronae Borealis4.14
- Epsilon Coronae Borealis4.14
- Delta Coronae Borealis4.59
- Zeta 1 Coronae Borealis4.64
- Tau Coronae Borealis4.73
- Kappa Coronae Borealis4.79