Star profile
Sheratan
Beta Arietis · Aries
What is Sheratan
Sheratan takes its name from the Arabic 'al-sharatan', 'the two signs': together with Mesarthim, it once marked the spring equinox for ancient astronomers, before precession nudged that point across the sky. It is a bright, young, white A-type star just under 59 light-years from Earth. Its light has crossed the void for nearly a human lifetime before reaching your eyes.
Where it is and when to see it
Sheratan lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is October: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
A signature without a lock can be replaced by someone else's. The lock makes the signature permanent and lets you choose a symbolic name for the star, always shown next to the star's catalogue identifier. How the lock works
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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 Sheratan
- Constellation
- Aries
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.64
- Distance
- 58.7 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 28.660° · Dec 20.808°
- Catalogue
- HIP 8903 · HD 11636
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Aries
Aries has 57 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- HamalAlpha Arietis2.01
- Bharani3.61
- MesarthimGamma 2 Arietis3.88
- BoteinDelta Arietis4.35
- HIP 155494.47
- Lilii Borea4.52
- Epsilon Arietis4.63
- 35 Arietis4.65