Blue-white main-sequence star · Delphinus

Sualocin

Also known as: α Delphini (α Del), HIP 101958

mag 3.8250 light-years

About

Sualocin (α Delphini) is a blue-white main-sequence star of magnitude 3.8 in Delphinus, about 250 light-years away.

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How to find it

  • Sualocin is in the constellation Delphinus.
  • Best evenings: around mid-September 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 64° S.
  • Star patterns: Job’s Coffin.

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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

  • EyesVisible from the suburbs on a clear night, but lost in bright city skies.
  • 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 nameSualocin
Designationα Delphini (α Del)
Hipparcos numberHIP 101958
TypeBlue-white main-sequence star
Spectral typeB9V
ColourWhiteB−V colour index −0.06
Magnitude3.8The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance250 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1770.
Proper motion0.055″ per year across the sky
ConstellationDelphinus
Right ascension (J2000)20h 39m 38.3s
Declination (J2000)+15° 54′ 44″

More in Delphinus

Sources and credits

Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →