Star profile
Paikauhale
Tau Scorpii · Scorpius
Hot blue starWhat is Paikauhale
Paikauhale is a very hot blue star at 474 light-years from the Earth, set discreetly inside the rich constellation Scorpius. Its name comes from Hawaiian and describes someone who drifts from house to house without settling anywhere: a perpetual wanderer with no fixed home and no warmth of his own to fall back on. The light now appearing in southern European summer skies left the star when Charles V abdicated the empire in Brussels, dividing between his son and his brother the largest crown the continent had ever known.
Where it is and when to see it
Paikauhale lies in the southern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is June, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 10° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 21° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 84° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 62° N.
It ranks no. 9 in brightness among the 104 stars of Scorpius in our catalogue. To find it, start from Antares, the brightest: it lies about 2° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 470 years ago.
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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 Paikauhale
- Constellation
- Scorpius
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.82
- Distance
- 474.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 248.971° · Dec -28.216°
- Catalogue
- HIP 81266 · HD 149438
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Scorpius
Scorpius has 104 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AntaresAlpha Scorpii1.06
- ShaulaLambda Scorpii1.62
- SargasTheta Scorpii1.86
- Kappa Scorpii2.39
- AcrabBeta 1 Scorpii2.56
- LesathUpsilon Scorpii2.70
- FangPi Scorpii2.89
- AlniyatSigma Scorpii2.90