The AsterNym star registry
La Superba
La Superba: the pale star of Canes Venatici
pale · Canes Venatici · Y CVn
La Superba is a pale star in the constellation Canes Venatici, one of the stars with a proper name recognised in the IAU Catalog of Star Names. At magnitude 5.42 it is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky.
Most stars in the sky are anonymous points of light. La Superba is not. Some IAU-recognised names are ancient; others were adopted by the IAU only recently. Either way, the star already has a scientific identity, and a dedication attaches a human story to it.
Real star · Personal dedication · Recorded in the AsterNym registry
See what a dedicated page looks like: preview
La Superba at a glance
- Constellation
- Canes Venatici
- Other name
- Y CVn
- Catalogue number
- HIP 62223
- Distance
- ≈ 1,045 light-years
- Brightness
- Magnitude 5.42 naked-eye
- Star type
- C7Iab
- Colour
- pale
- Best seen from
- The Northern Hemisphere and lower southern latitudes
- Right ascension
- 12h 45m 08s
- Declination
- +45° 26′ 25″
J2000 catalogue coordinates that can be independently cross-checked against astronomical databases. A planetarium app showing coordinates of date will differ slightly, because proper motion and precession move a star’s apparent position over time.
What kind of star is La Superba?
La Superba is catalogued as a pale star and its spectral type is not cleanly classified in the data behind this page, so what follows stays with what has been measured rather than what could be inferred from it.
It is a supergiant, which means it has left the stable part of its life and swollen enormously. Put it where the Sun is and its surface would swallow the inner planets. Stars this size do not fade quietly; this one will end as a supernova, and on a human timescale that could be tonight or in a million years.
La Superba barely moves against the background sky, which is mostly a statement about how far away it is. For every practical purpose, including yours, it is fixed.
The light you are looking at is old
La Superba is about 1,045 light years away, so the light reaching you now set out around 981. You are not looking at the star as it is. You are looking at the star as it was, and there is no way to see it any other way.
That delay is the part people find hardest and like most. A star is the one thing you can give someone that was already old before either of you was born and will outlast anything else you could have chosen.
It sits at the edge of what an unaided eye can do, so finding it is a deliberate act rather than an accident.
What could a La Superba dedication represent?
La Superba is especially meaningful for someone who:
- · Deserves something older than any gift shop
- · Marks a beginning, an anniversary or a promise
- · Is remembered every time you look up
- · Has a light you want recorded somewhere permanent
Dedication idea
“For the one I think of when I find Canes Venatici in the sky.”
Where can you see La Superba?
It is easy to see from most of the Northern Hemisphere. It can also appear from lower southern latitudes, but it never rises for observers south of about latitude 45°S. It passes directly overhead at latitude 45°N. It stands highest at midnight in April, so April and May evenings are the best time to look. At magnitude 5.42 it is a naked-eye star only under a dark sky, binoculars make it certain.
La Superba belongs to Canes Venatici.
What does La Superba mean in astrology?
The classical fixed-star tradition: Ptolemy, the medieval Behenian lists, Robson’s 1923 compilation. Is silent on La Superba, and we don’t invent lore where none exists. What astrology can still read is the star’s real position, below.
Projected onto the zodiac the way fixed-star astrology reads any star, La Superba stands at 17° Virgo at the J2000 epoch, and the Sun passes that degree around 6 September in the years around 2000. Fixed-star longitude shifts slowly against the tropical zodiac because of precession, about one degree every seventy-two years, so a natal conjunction must be calculated for the birth year rather than read off this J2000 value or a calendar date.
Traditional interpretations, not facts or predictions. The position and dates are computed.
Dedicate La Superba to someone who matters
A flower fades. A card is eventually put away. A star gives your message a place in the sky.
from$29.95a year
Dedicate La Superba →Real star · your message · a page to share
Your La Superba dedication includes
- Your chosen dedication name
- Your personal message
- La Superba's real astronomical coordinates
- A shareable dedication page
- Its location on the AsterNym Galaxy Map
- An optional printable certificate and gift presentation
La Superba keeps its established astronomical name. Your dedication is a personal commemorative record within the AsterNym registry.
Frequently asked questions about La Superba
- What does La Superba mean in astrology?
- The classical fixed-star tradition has no documented meaning for La Superba. Projected onto the zodiac, La Superba stands at 17° Virgo, and the Sun passes that degree each year around 6 September.
- Is La Superba the brightest star?
- La Superba shines at magnitude 5.42 · visible to the naked eye on a clear night, one of the few thousand stars with an officially recognised name.
- How far away is La Superba?
- La Superba is approximately 1,045 light-years from Earth. The light reaching us tonight began its journey around 1,045 years ago.
- Which constellation contains La Superba?
- La Superba is part of Canes Venatici.
- Can everyone see La Superba?
- It is easy to see from most of the Northern Hemisphere. It can also appear from lower southern latitudes, but it never rises for observers south of about latitude 45°S. It passes directly overhead at latitude 45°N. It stands highest at midnight in April, so April and May evenings are the best time to look. At magnitude 5.42 it is a naked-eye star only under a dark sky, binoculars make it certain.
- Is dedicating La Superba an official astronomical renaming?
- No. La Superba keeps its internationally recognised astronomical name. An AsterNym dedication records your personal name and message in the AsterNym registry without changing the star's scientific identity.
Explore nearby stars
