
Star profile
HIP 81854
What is HIP 81854
In Ursa Minor, that small constellation that embraces the pole star, shines a yellow-white F-type star surprisingly close at 117 light-years. Its light set out around 1908, the year the Tunguska fireball fell over the Siberian forests and Ford launched his Model T. Slightly hotter than the Sun and a white barely tinged with gold, it stands watch near the axis of the northern sky.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 81854 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 64° up.
- From New York it never sets and culminates about 53° up.
- From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 12° S.
It ranks no. 25 in brightness among the 25 stars of Ursa Minor in our catalogue. To find it, start from Polaris, the brightest: it lies about 13° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 120 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 81854
- Constellation
- Ursa Minor
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.99
- Distance
- 117.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 250.776° · Dec 77.514°
- Catalogue
- HIP 81854 · HD 152303
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.
- PolarisAlpha Ursae Minoris1.97
- KochabBeta Ursae Minoris2.07
- PherkadGamma Ursae Minoris3.00
- HIP 786615.73
- HIP 847695.74
- 24 Ursae Minoris5.78
- HIP 655365.82
- HIP 669035.91