Star profile
HIP 77902
Variable starWhat is HIP 77902
In Serpens, this red M-type giant shines with the deep, throbbing red of cool evolved stars. Its light set out 511 years ago, around 1513, when Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and first sighted the Pacific Ocean. Far larger and far cooler than the Sun, its variability betrays the slow contractions of a mature star, suspended between quietude and the final transformation of its cycle.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 77902 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, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 59° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 70° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 36° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 70° S.
It ranks no. 34 in brightness among the 65 stars of Serpens in our catalogue. To find it, start from Unukalhai, the brightest: it lies about 14° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 510 years ago.
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Astronomical data for HIP 77902
- Constellation
- Serpens
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.45
- Distance
- 510.5 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 238.644° · Dec 20.311°
- Catalogue
- HIP 77902 · HD 142574
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Other stars in Serpens
Serpens has 65 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- UnukalhaiAlpha Serpens2.63
- Eta Serpens3.23
- Mu Serpens3.54
- 25 Serpens5.39
- HIP 791955.39
- HIP 898515.39
- 11 Serpens5.50
- Phi Serpens5.54