Blue-white giant · Sculptor
α Sculptoris
Also known as: α Scl, HIP 4577
mag 4.3780 light-years
About
α Sculptoris is a blue-white giant of magnitude 4.3 in Sculptor, about 780 light-years away.
How to find it
- α Sculptoris is in the constellation Sculptor.
- Best evenings: around mid-November 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 south of 51° N.
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
| Designation | α Sculptoris (α Scl) |
|---|---|
| Hipparcos number | HIP 4577 |
| Type | Blue-white giant |
| Spectral type | B7IIIp |
| Colour | Blue-whiteB−V colour index −0.15 |
| Magnitude | 4.3The smaller the number, the brighter. |
| Distance | 780 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1250. |
| Proper motion | 0.023″ per year across the sky |
| Constellation | Sculptor |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 00h 58m 36.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | −29° 21′ 27″ |
Sources and credits
Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →