Star profile

Iklil

Rho Scorpii · Scorpius

Hot blue star

3D likeness based on its real data · class B · ~15,000 K

What is Iklil

Iklil burns with blue light 472 light-years away in Scorpius, a class-B star whose surface temperature lies far above that of our Sun. Its Arabic name, «iklil», means «the crown» or «the diadem», and once designated the group of stars that traced a garland above the celestial scorpion's head. To pause one's gaze on it is to watch a photon that set out when the first European conquistadors were stepping onto American soil.

Where it is and when to see it

Iklil 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, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 9° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 20° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 85° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 61° N.

It ranks no. 18 in brightness among the 104 stars of Scorpius in our catalogue. To find it, start from Antares, the brightest: it lies about 8° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 470 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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Leave your signature on Iklil

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Write my signature

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 Iklil

Constellation: Scorpius
Apparent magnitude: 3.87
Distance: 472.1 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 239.221° · Dec -29.214°
Catalogue: HIP 78104 · HD 142669

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Scorpius

Scorpius has 104 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 104 stars in Scorpius