Star profile

HIP 80161

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

What is HIP 80161

Within the serpentine coils of Draco burns an orange star of type K, cooler and ruddier than the Sun. Its light took roughly 293 years to reach us: it set out when Newton was still revising his Principia and the refracting telescopes of Europe were just beginning to chart the heavens. It now beats with a tempered fire, faithful to its slow flicker among the rings of the circumpolar dragon that never sets beneath the northern horizon.

Where it is and when to see it

HIP 80161 lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is February, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 72° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 62° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 21° S.

It ranks no. 57 in brightness among the 122 stars of Draco in our catalogue. To find it, start from Eltanin, the brightest: it lies about 21° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 290 years ago.

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Astronomical data for HIP 80161

Constellation: Draco
Apparent magnitude: 5.26
Distance: 293.3 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 245.453° · Dec 69.109°
Catalogue: HIP 80161 · HD 148293

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

Other stars in Draco

Draco has 122 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 122 stars in Draco