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Star profile

HIP 80480

3D likeness based on its real data · class F · ~6,500 K

What is HIP 80480

Near the northern celestial pole, in Ursa Minor, pulses a yellow-white star slightly hotter than the Sun, about 140 light-years away. Its light set out around 1886, when Hertz was proving in Karlsruhe the existence of electromagnetic waves and opening the door to radio. Its pale tone lets it slip almost unnoticed among the markers that guide travellers toward the Pole Star.

Where it is and when to see it

HIP 80480 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 63° up.
  • From New York it never sets and culminates about 52° up.
  • From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 11° S.

It ranks no. 17 in brightness among the 25 stars of Ursa Minor in our catalogue. To find it, start from Polaris, the brightest: it lies about 12° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 140 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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Leave your signature on HIP 80480

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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 80480

Constellation
Ursa Minor
Apparent magnitude
5.55
Distance
139.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000)
RA 246.431° · Dec 78.964°
Catalogue
HIP 80480 · HD 149681

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