Star profile
Eta Lupi
Hot blue starWhat is Eta Lupi
Eta Lupi is a triple system whose inner pair takes some 27,000 years to complete a single orbit—glacial by human reckoning, an eyeblink in stellar time. Its dominant member is a blue subgiant, partnered with a chemically peculiar star whose surface bears strange metallic abundances. The light reaching the eye tonight left 442 years ago, deep in the southern Wolf.
Where it is and when to see it
Eta Lupi 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 1° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 11° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 86° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 52° N.
It ranks no. 7 in brightness among the 74 stars of Lupus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpha Lupi, the brightest: it lies about 17° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 440 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 Eta Lupi
- Constellation
- Lupus
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.42
- Distance
- 442.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 240.031° · Dec -38.397°
- Catalogue
- HIP 78384 · HD 143118
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Other stars in Lupus
Lupus has 74 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Alpha Lupi2.30
- Beta Lupi2.68
- Gamma Lupi2.80
- Delta Lupi3.22
- Epsilon Lupi3.37
- Zeta Lupi3.41
- Iota Lupi3.55
- Phi 1 Lupi3.57