Star profile

HIP 81304

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

What is HIP 81304

On the curling tail of Scorpius glows an orange K-type ember. Its light set out almost three hundred and forty-three years ago, while Newton was publishing the «Principia» and rearranging the cosmos with three laws. Cooler and calmer than the Sun, it still seems to hold the hush of that silent revolution. To watch it tonight is to peer into an age when the universe first began to obey equations.

Where it is and when to see it

HIP 81304 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 3° above the horizon.
From New York it culminates about 14° above the horizon.
From Sydney it culminates about 89° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere south of 55° N.

It ranks no. 21 in brightness among the 104 stars of Scorpius in our catalogue. To find it, start from Antares, the brightest: it lies about 9° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 340 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 HIP 81304

Constellation: Scorpius
Apparent magnitude: 4.18
Distance: 342.6 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 249.094° · Dec -35.255°
Catalogue: HIP 81304 · HD 149447

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.

See all 104 stars in Scorpius