Based upon parallax measurements made with the Hipparcos astrometry satellite,[14][15] Hamal is about 65.8 light-years (20.2 parsecs) from Earth.

[23] It is estimated to have 65% more mass than the Sun,[10] while interferometric measurements using the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer show it to be 15 times larger in diameter.

It was detected using the radial velocity method, based upon measurements made between 2003 and 2010 at the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory in Korea.

[25] Hamal's orientation with relation to the Earth's orbit around the Sun gives it a certain importance not apparent from its modest brightness.

[13] Currently (epoch J2000) its declination is almost exactly equal to the latitude of the Tropic of Cancer, meaning it can be used to find the position of that imaginary line when the Sun is not nearby.

The planet serves as the arena of the major part of the story, being a homeworld to a fictional sentient race, being studied by humans.