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Uncommon variable star 25 EP

HD 141690

RA 237.3872° · Dec 25.4602° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
25 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 25

9 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) · +5
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G0IV — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • Where it is in life. It is a subgiant, caught in the act of leaving the main sequence as the hydrogen in its core runs out.
  • It changes. This star does not hold still: its brightness rises and falls on a rhythm of hours, days or years, either pulsing in size or being eclipsed by a companion.

Sense of scale

  • In perspective. Far away by human standards, yet still a local address inside the Milky Way's spiral arms.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 8.7 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Serpens.
  • Northern sky. It rides the northern half of the sky — an easier target the further north you are.
  • Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around May — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Properties

absmag
2.171
bv
0.635
constellation
Ser
dist ly
653.6192
luminosity
11.7923
mag
8.68
name
HD 141690
spect
G0IV
var amplitude
0.14
var designation
QX
var max
8.63
var min
8.77

Nearby objects

About HD 141690

HD 141690 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 653.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Ser, shines at apparent magnitude 8.68 and has spectral type G0IV.

Its spectrum reads G0IV — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 141690 in the constellation Ser. At apparent magnitude 8.68, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 141690 is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.

Why HD 141690 is an uncommon variable star

HD 141690 scores 25 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 9 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Sun-like G-type star, Subgiant (leaving the main sequence), Gently variable and A named variable star — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.