Yellow giant
Formosa
Also known as: HIP 56508
mag 6.5400 light-years
About
Formosa is a yellow giant of magnitude 6.5, about 400 light-years away.
How to find it
- Best evenings: around late April it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
- Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from north of 60° S.
When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.
What you will see
- EyesAt the very limit of the naked eye; binoculars show it easily.
- Binoculars (10×50)A sharp point; binoculars bring out its colour and the fainter stars around it.
- Telescope (6–8 inch)Still a point of light at any magnification — stars are too far away to show a disc. Low in the sky, bright stars twinkle and flash colours.
Stars look the same in any instrument: brighter and sharper, but never bigger.
Facts
| Proper name | Formosa |
|---|---|
| Hipparcos number | HIP 56508 |
| Type | Yellow giant |
| Spectral type | G9III |
| Colour | Pale orangeB−V colour index 1.01 |
| Magnitude | 6.5The smaller the number, the brighter. |
| Distance | 400 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1630. |
| Proper motion | 0.059″ per year across the sky |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 11h 35m 03.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | +20° 26′ 29″ |
Sources and credits
Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →