The AsterNym star registry
Paloma
Paloma: the pale star of Auriga
pale · Auriga · 2MASS J05243042+4244506
Paloma is a pale star in the constellation Auriga, one of the stars with a proper name recognised in the IAU Catalog of Star Names. At magnitude 17.11 it is a binocular or telescope object.
Most stars in the sky are anonymous points of light. Paloma 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
Paloma at a glance
- Constellation
- Auriga
- Other name
- 2MASS J05243042+4244506
- Catalogue number
- 2MASS J05243042+4244506
- Distance
- ≈ 1,932 light-years
- Brightness
- Magnitude 17.11 telescope
- Colour
- pale
- Best seen from
- The Northern Hemisphere and lower southern latitudes
- Right ascension
- 05h 24m 30s
- Declination
- +42° 44′ 50″
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 Paloma?
Paloma 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.
The light you are looking at is old
Paloma is about 1,932 light years away, so the light reaching you now set out around 94. 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 Paloma dedication represent?
Paloma 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 Auriga in the sky.”
Where can you see Paloma?
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 47°S. It passes directly overhead at latitude 43°N. It stands highest at midnight in December, so December and January evenings are the best time to look. At magnitude 17.11 it sits below naked-eye reach; binoculars or a small telescope will find it.
Paloma belongs to Auriga.
What does Paloma mean in astrology?
The classical fixed-star tradition: Ptolemy, the medieval Behenian lists, Robson’s 1923 compilation. Is silent on Paloma, 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, Paloma stands at 23° Gemini at the J2000 epoch, and the Sun passes that degree around 12 June 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 Paloma 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 Paloma →Real star · your message · a page to share
Your Paloma dedication includes
- Your chosen dedication name
- Your personal message
- Paloma's real astronomical coordinates
- A shareable dedication page
- Its location on the AsterNym Galaxy Map
- An optional printable certificate and gift presentation
Paloma keeps its established astronomical name. Your dedication is a personal commemorative record within the AsterNym registry.
Frequently asked questions about Paloma
- What does Paloma mean in astrology?
- The classical fixed-star tradition has no documented meaning for Paloma. Projected onto the zodiac, Paloma stands at 23° Gemini, and the Sun passes that degree each year around 12 June.
- Is Paloma the brightest star?
- Paloma shines at magnitude 17.11 · a binocular-and-telescope star, one of the few thousand stars with an officially recognised name.
- How far away is Paloma?
- Paloma is approximately 1,932 light-years from Earth. The light reaching us tonight began its journey around 1,932 years ago.
- Which constellation contains Paloma?
- Paloma is part of Auriga.
- Can everyone see Paloma?
- 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 47°S. It passes directly overhead at latitude 43°N. It stands highest at midnight in December, so December and January evenings are the best time to look. At magnitude 17.11 it sits below naked-eye reach; binoculars or a small telescope will find it.
- Is dedicating Paloma an official astronomical renaming?
- No. Paloma 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.
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