Star profile

HIP 78661

3D likeness based on its real data · class A · ~8,500 K

What is HIP 78661

In Ursa Minor, the constellation that guards the celestial north, shines a white A-class star whose light set out around 1512, when Renaissance painting was reaching its peak in Italy. Hotter and more luminous than the Sun, it gives off a crisp, almost bluish glow. It keeps the Pole Star company in its quiet corner of the sky, reminding us that the deep north holds far more light than the lazy eye usually recognises at first glance.

Where it is and when to see it

HIP 78661 lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is January: 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

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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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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 HIP 78661

Constellation: Ursa Minor
Apparent magnitude: 5.73
Distance: 513.7 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 240.881° · Dec 76.794°
Catalogue: HIP 78661 · HD 145622

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

Other stars in Ursa Minor

Ursa Minor has 25 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 25 stars in Ursa Minor