Miaplacidus: how to find it and when to see it
Miaplacidus ranks 28th of the 74 bright stars on our list, at magnitude 1.67, in the constellation Carina.
You can see it from anywhere south of 20° N, and it's highest in the evening sky in March.
Miaplacidus at a glance
- Constellation
- Carina
- Magnitude
- 1.67
- Rank on our list
- 28 of 74
- Hemisphere
- Southern
- Right ascension
- 9 h 13 min
- Declination
- 69.7° south
- Visible from
- south of 20° N
- Never sets
- south of 20° S
- Best evening
- 25 March
Where Miaplacidus is in the sky
Miaplacidus sits 69.7° south of the celestial equator, the line in the sky directly above Earth's equator, so it's in the southern half of the sky. Its right ascension is 9 h 13 min.
Right ascension works like longitude on the sky. It's counted in hours, and about one hour of it turns past you each hour of the night.
When and where to see Miaplacidus
From the northern hemisphere
From 40° N, the latitude of New York, Madrid and Beijing, Miaplacidus never rises above the horizon. You need to be south of 20° N to see it.
From the southern hemisphere
From 34° S, the latitude of Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, Miaplacidus never sets: it circles the pole all night and climbs to 54° above the horizon in the south.
It's in the evening sky all year, and it's highest in the evening around 25 March, in autumn.
How high Miaplacidus climbs from each latitude
The evening is about 9 pm local time, or 10 pm in summer time, and later when the sky is still too bright. A star counts as in the evening sky when it's at least 10° above the horizon.
| Latitude | Visibility | Highest point | Evening sky |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60° N | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 50° N | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 40° N | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 30° N | Never rises | Below the horizon | None |
| 20° N | Rises and sets | 0° in the south | None |
| Equator | Rises and sets | 20° in the south | Feb to May |
| 20° S | Rises and sets | 40° in the south | Dec to Jul |
| 34° S | Never sets | 54° in the south | All year |
| 45° S | Never sets | 65° in the south | All year |
Keep the sky of a night that matters
Our star maps show the stars above any place, at the minute you choose, with the constellation lines drawn in. If Miaplacidus was above the horizon that night, it's on your map, and we print it on museum-grade paper.
Questions about Miaplacidus
Miaplacidus is in Carina. It sits 69.7° south of the celestial equator, at a right ascension of 9 h 13 min.
Miaplacidus is highest in the evening sky around 25 March. That's spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere.
Yes, from anywhere south of 20° N. From 40° N, it never rises, so you need to be further south.
Miaplacidus has a magnitude of 1.67, which ranks it 28th of the 74 bright stars on our list. Sirius looks about 18 times brighter.