Star profile
HIP 85169
Hot blue starWhat is HIP 85169
On the altar of the firmament, Ara, burns a hot blue star some 889 light-years away. Its light set out around 1137, when Roger II was crowned king of Sicily and the Mediterranean was a crucible of cultures. Far more massive and luminous than the Sun, this youthful ember spills its radiation over interstellar clouds, slowly tinting them an ultraviolet blue.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 85169 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 never rises above the horizon.
- From New York it never rises above the horizon.
- From Sydney it never sets and culminates about 63° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 29° N.
It ranks no. 29 in brightness among the 43 stars of Ara in our catalogue. To find it, start from Beta Ara, the brightest: it lies about 5° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 890 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 85169
- Constellation
- Ara
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.76
- Distance
- 888.8 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 261.078° · Dec -60.674°
- Catalogue
- HIP 85169 · HD 156942
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Ara
Ara has 43 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Beta Ara2.84
- Alpha Ara2.84
- Zeta Ara3.12
- HIP 835355.73
- HIP 821105.74
- HIP 850685.76
- HIP 865525.78
- HIP 850495.86