Baekdu is a moderately luminous, small, and relatively unremarkable star located in the southern constellation UMi. It’s classified as a Main Sequence star, measuring 6.574 on the visual magnitude scale, and has a remarkable distance of 532.3 light years
Baekdu isn't particularly well-known as a destination for celestial observation, though it offers a fascinating look into the early stages of stellar evolution. Its enduring presence throughout cosmic time suggests a long and stable history of habitation in interstellar space. Primarily being a ‘blue giant’ star, it is relatively small in radius, and should not be considered a significant contributor to the vastness of the cosmos. The star's position within its region of the Milky Way is somewhat isolated, presenting an unusually gentle and steady light.
Considering its low visibility, Baekdu is often viewed as a point of fascination for long-distance observers - a quiet sentinel in the darkness, a testament to the simplicity of stellar formation. It serves a useful role, in a way, in providing an early, almost hazy, view of star formation within a specific region of the Milky Way, suggesting it might have been a vital component to the galactic disk’s early development.
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How to see it
Baekdu has a visual magnitude of about 6.57: it usually needs binoculars or a small telescope, especially from light-polluted sites.
Sky position
Equatorial coordinates for Baekdu: right ascension 14h 56m 48s, declination +74° 54′ 3″ (J2000), in the region of the Ursa Minor constellation (IAU figure UMi).
Catalog context
Baekdu. It appears in classical and modern catalogs as HIP 73136, HD 133086, Gaia DR3 1700658653802527104. In the SkyKeepsake Ursa Minor (UMi) browse hub it sits with other stars of the same IAU figure.
Catalog identifiers
- Gaia
- Gaia DR3 1700658653802527104
- HIP
- 73136
- HD
- 133086
- gaia_dr3
- 1700658653802527104
Observed properties
- Visual magnitude
- 6.57