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3 Puppis — Star in Puppis

Magnitude 4.0m Star Puppis (Pup) Visible
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Observe

1Physical Properties

Magnitude 3.96
Range 3.94 - 3.97
Variable Type ACYG
Spectral Type A2Iab supergiant
Star Color Yellow-white (B-V 0.18)
Distance 5,528 ly

2Position & Identifiers

RA 07h 43m 48.5s
Dec -28° 57' 17.0"
Constellation Puppis (Pup)
HR 2996
HIP 37677
HD 62623
SAO 174400
Flamsteed 3 Pup
SIMBAD

3How easy to spot?

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Equipment Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5
Naked eye Easy Medium+ Medium
50mm finder Easy Easy Easy
150mm scope Easy Easy Easy
Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs

4Visibility

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Best season Dec – Feb (peak: Jan)

5Survey Image

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Explore

7

Size Comparison

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8

Compare Stars

9

Spectral Classification

10

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

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Read: The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram — Reading Stars Like a Map
11

Stellar Lifecycle

12

Blackbody Spectrum

13

Stellar Absorption Spectrum

Simulated absorption spectrum based on spectral type. Hover over lines to identify elements.

14

Stellar Fusion

Discover

15Stellar Notes

Var. in red and IR. Amp. 0.24R, 0.20(R-I).
137.767d, K 3.6k/s, V0 +25.4k/s, asini 6.53.
Infrared color excess. Color excess E(B-V) = +0.13.
Called Tau in Argelander, Bayer, HP 1462, (but now Tau is HR 2553). HR 2996 called l in HR 50 and Lacaille | 1763.
16

Light Travel Time Machine

17

Relativistic Travel

Nearby in the Sky

Other targets within a few degrees — pan your scope a little and keep exploring.

Visibility scores assume a 150 mm Newton at Bortle 4.

NGC 2453
Easy
Open cluster
Open Cluster mag 8.3 1.9° Puppis
29 CMa
Hard+
Eclipsing binary, period 4.4d
Variable Star mag 4.98 7.1° Canis Major
IC 2311
Medium+
Elliptical galaxy
Galaxy mag 11.52 8.6° Puppis
Show on Map

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