Star profile
Rho Octans
Southern polar starWhat is Rho Octans
Rho Octantis is a white A-type star about 216 light-years away, in the small constellation that embraces the south celestial pole. It inhabits a region of sky without a bright pole star: the south lacks the steady beacon the north enjoys thanks to Polaris. Stars like Rho Octantis, modest and close to the austral celestial pivot, are the ones generations of navigators used to orient themselves in the absence of a clear guide.
Where it is and when to see it
Rho 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: 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 Rho Octans
- Constellation
- Octans
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.57
- Distance
- 215.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 235.817° · Dec -84.465°
- Catalogue
- HIP 76996 · HD 137333
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
- Psi Octans5.49
- Tau Octans5.50
- Kappa Octans5.56
- Pi 1 Octans5.65
- Pi 2 Octans5.65