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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, when it culminates around midnight.

  • From London it never sets and culminates about 65° up.
  • From New York it never sets and culminates about 54° up.
  • From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 13° S.

It ranks no. 20 in brightness among the 25 stars of Ursa Minor in our catalogue. To find it, start from Polaris, 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.

Find it on the sky map

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Leave your signature on HIP 78661

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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