Star profile

HIP 7999

Highly luminous star

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is HIP 7999

Far in the constellation Cetus —the cosmic whale— lives an orange K-type giant, an aged and luminous star swollen well beyond the Sun. Its light set out around 1,190 years ago, when Charlemagne had just been crowned emperor and illuminated manuscripts glowed in the scriptoria of the early Carolingian renaissance. That same medieval light still crosses the night sky with the calm of a deep-sea creature.

Where it is and when to see it

HIP 7999 lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is October, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it culminates about 35° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 46° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 60° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 86° N.

It ranks no. 29 in brightness among the 111 stars of Cetus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Diphda, the brightest: it lies about 20° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 1,200 years ago.

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Astronomical data for HIP 7999

Constellation: Cetus
Apparent magnitude: 4.98
Distance: 1190.5 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 25.681° · Dec -3.690°
Catalogue: HIP 7999 · HD 10550

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Other stars in Cetus

Cetus has 111 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 111 stars in Cetus