Star profile
Phi Octans
What is Phi Octans
Phi Octantis belongs to Octans, that small southern constellation Lacaille created to honor the navigation instrument, with the peculiarity of housing the south celestial pole. It is a white A-type star roughly 194 light-years away, part of the handful of faint lights that surround the invisible axis around which the entire southern sky turns. A discreet glow at the silent heart of the southern firmament.
Where it is and when to see it
Phi Octans 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 49° up.
It can be seen from anywhere south of 15° N.
It ranks no. 15 in brightness among the 35 stars of Octans in our catalogue. To find it, start from Nu Octans, the brightest: it lies about 12° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 190 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 Phi Octans
- Constellation
- Octans
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.47
- Distance
- 194.1 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 275.902° · Dec -75.044°
- Catalogue
- HIP 90133 · HD 167468
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Other stars in Octans
Octans has 35 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- Nu Octans3.73
- Beta Octans4.13
- Delta Octans4.31
- Zeta Octans5.43
- Polaris AustralisSigma Octans5.45
- Iota Octans5.45
- Psi Octans5.49
- Tau Octans5.50