Superman may be fictional, but his home star is now very real. DC Comics called upon an astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, to pinpoint the location of Superman’s home star system. Tyson looked for a sun that fits the overall story of Superman and the presumed characteristics of Superman’s home star. According to the original story, Superman was born on Krytpon but while he was still an infant he was launched toward Earth by his father just before the planet's destruction. Tyson decided it would make sense if Superman's star were a red dwarf.
After a survey of stars that weren't too far, Tyson “found” Superman’s home star in the southern sky in the constellation Corvus (the Crow). It’s a red dwarf star named “LHS 2520.” As a red dwarf, Superman’s star is cooler and smaller than our sun. It’s not too far away either, at 27.1 light-years from planet Earth.
According to a DC Entertainment publisher, “By applying real-world science to this story he has forever changed Superman’s place in history. Now fans will be able to look up at the night’s sky and say, 'That’s where Superman was born.'"
Some could criticize the mixing of the fiction of the Superman movie with astronomy facts. However it’s a great way to encourage kids to look up into the sky. Most kids are more likely to investigate the Superman movie before they would normally investigate random astronomy facts. So perhaps it’s worth it in the long run, assuming of course that today’s younger kids will take an interest in Superman, the man of steel.
So where is superman’s home? It can be found in the region of the constellation Corvus, which is a southern constellation. In the Northern Hemisphere, the constellation Corvus is best viewed in the evening in the spring and summer months. To the ancient Greeks, it was a raven sent by Apollo to fetch water. After the raven wasted time eating figs, Apollo punished him by throwing him into the heavens to be eternally thirsty. According to legend this is the reason a crow only caws instead of sings. For finding the star by star gazing, it helps if you don’t live too far north, and even better of you live in the southern hemisphere.
Here are the exact coordinates of LHS 2520, Superman’s home star:
Right Ascension: 12 hours 10 minutes 5.77 seconds
Declination: -15 degrees 4 minutes 17.9 seconds
Proper Motion: 0.76 arcseconds per year, along 172.94 degrees from due north
After a survey of stars that weren't too far, Tyson “found” Superman’s home star in the southern sky in the constellation Corvus (the Crow). It’s a red dwarf star named “LHS 2520.” As a red dwarf, Superman’s star is cooler and smaller than our sun. It’s not too far away either, at 27.1 light-years from planet Earth.
According to a DC Entertainment publisher, “By applying real-world science to this story he has forever changed Superman’s place in history. Now fans will be able to look up at the night’s sky and say, 'That’s where Superman was born.'"
Some could criticize the mixing of the fiction of the Superman movie with astronomy facts. However it’s a great way to encourage kids to look up into the sky. Most kids are more likely to investigate the Superman movie before they would normally investigate random astronomy facts. So perhaps it’s worth it in the long run, assuming of course that today’s younger kids will take an interest in Superman, the man of steel.
So where is superman’s home? It can be found in the region of the constellation Corvus, which is a southern constellation. In the Northern Hemisphere, the constellation Corvus is best viewed in the evening in the spring and summer months. To the ancient Greeks, it was a raven sent by Apollo to fetch water. After the raven wasted time eating figs, Apollo punished him by throwing him into the heavens to be eternally thirsty. According to legend this is the reason a crow only caws instead of sings. For finding the star by star gazing, it helps if you don’t live too far north, and even better of you live in the southern hemisphere.
Here are the exact coordinates of LHS 2520, Superman’s home star:
Right Ascension: 12 hours 10 minutes 5.77 seconds
Declination: -15 degrees 4 minutes 17.9 seconds
Proper Motion: 0.76 arcseconds per year, along 172.94 degrees from due north
Here is an image taken from my.sky-map.org. (an excellent tool: very rich database and viewer!) So this is the star around which Superman's planet Krypton orbited! Of course, Krypton is not visible, which makes sense since it's too far and it supposedly no longer exists anyways; Superman's home planet was destroyed. Not that it ever did exist. (Thanks Ben for the link)
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