Orange-red star
La Superba
Also known as: HIP 62223
mag 5.41,000 light-years
About
La Superba is an orange-red star of magnitude 5.4, about 1,000 light-years away.
How to find it
- Best evenings: around mid-May 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 35° 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
- EyesNeeds a dark sky away from city lights.
- 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 | La Superba |
|---|---|
| Hipparcos number | HIP 62223 |
| Type | Orange-red star |
| Spectral type | C7Iab |
| Colour | Orange-redB−V colour index 2.99 |
| Magnitude | 5.4The smaller the number, the brighter. |
| Distance | 1,000 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1000. Distances this large are uncertain by 10% or more. |
| Proper motion | 0.013″ per year across the sky |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 12h 45m 07.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | +45° 26′ 25″ |
Sources and credits
Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →