Sualocin is the alpha star of Delphinus, a blue-white star whose name, read backwards, spells Nicolaus, half of a hidden signature in the sky.
At a glance
| type | blue-white star (class B) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 254 light-years (77.8 pc) |
| its light left it | 254 years ago |
| luminosity | 247 × the Sun |
| radius | 4.58 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 10,700 K |
| constellation | Delphinus (Dolphin) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Sualocin
It is a blue-white star of class B, hotter than the Sun and far more luminous. It has companions, making it a small multiple system rather than a single star.
With Rotanev it carries the name of Niccolò Cacciatore, assistant at Palermo Observatory: Sualocin is Nicolaus reversed, Rotanev is Venator, the Latin for hunter, which is what Cacciatore means in Italian. Both names first appeared in the Palermo star catalogue.
What you see in the piece
From Earth Sualocin and Rotanev sit side by side as corners of the same small diamond. In the piece Sualocin lies well beyond Rotanev, and the diamond is only a figure seen from here.
Questions
What does Sualocin mean?
Sualocin is Nicolaus spelled backwards, the first name of Niccolò Cacciatore, an astronomer at Palermo Observatory.