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: 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.
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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