Star profile
Almach
Gamma 1 Andromedae · Andromeda
Hot blue starWhat is Almach
Almach marks the western foot of Andromeda, a hot B-type star whose bluish light crosses 393 light-years to reach us. The photon visible tonight left its surface before Galileo first turned his spyglass to the sky. Its Arabic name, «Al-‘Anaq al-Arḑ», refers to a small desert mammal akin to a caracal or lynx. To the naked eye it appears as a single jewel, but under a telescope it reveals a colour contrast so famous it has graced astronomy manuals for more than two centuries.
Where it is and when to see it
Almach lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is November, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it never sets and culminates about 81° up.
- From New York it culminates about 88° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 14° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 48° S.
It ranks no. 3 in brightness among the 81 stars of Andromeda in our catalogue. To find it, start from Alpheratz, the brightest: it lies about 27° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 390 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 Almach
- Constellation
- Andromeda
- Apparent magnitude
- 2.10
- Distance
- 393.0 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 30.975° · Dec 42.330°
- Catalogue
- HIP 9640 · HD 12533
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Andromeda
Andromeda has 81 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- MirachBeta Andromedae2.07
- AlpheratzAlpha Andromedae2.07
- Delta Andromedae3.27
- Nembus3.59
- Omicron Andromedae3.62
- Lambda Andromedae3.81
- Mu Andromedae3.86
- Zeta Andromedae4.08