Star profile
Polis
Mu Sagittarii · Sagittarius
Variable starWhat is Polis
Polis burns in the bow of Sagittarius as a hot, young blue star of type B. Its name, of Coptic and ancient Greek origin, has survived almost by chance in modern catalogues. It is a subtle variable whose brightness shifts at a barely perceptible rhythm. Look toward it on a summer night and you will also be looking toward the dense heart of the Milky Way, where billions of suns blur into the luminous band that gave our entire galaxy its name.
Where it is and when to see it
Polis 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: 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 Polis
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Apparent magnitude
- 3.84
- Distance
- 326200.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 273.441° · Dec -21.059°
- Catalogue
- HIP 89341 · HD 166937
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Sagittarius
Sagittarius has 117 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Kaus AustralisEpsilon Sagittarii1.79
- NunkiSigma Sagittarii2.05
- AscellaZeta Sagittarii2.60
- Tau Sagittarii3.32
- Xi 2 Sagittarii3.52
- Omicron Sagittarii3.76
- Rho 1 Sagittarii3.92
- Arkab PriorBeta 1 Sagittarii3.96