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Rare variable star 38 EP

HR 6055

RA 244.1803° · Dec -53.8111° · star

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Score breakdown

· 7 badges
38 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Naked-eye visible +8
  • Deep red star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 38

12 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Naked-eye visible · +8
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Subgiant (leaving the main sequence) · +5
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M2IV — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • 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 5.5 you can see it with your own eyes from a dark site, over in Norma.
  • Southern sky. It rides the southern half of the sky — an easier target the further south 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
-1.429
bv
1.696
constellation
Nor
dist ly
774.7174
luminosity
324.788
mag
5.45
name
HR 6055
spect
M2IV
var amplitude
0.11
var designation
V368
var max
5.389
var min
5.499

About HR 6055

HR 6055 is a rare variable star. It lies about 774.7 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Nor, shines at apparent magnitude 5.45 and has spectral type M2IV.

Its spectrum reads M2IV — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.

How to see it

Look for HR 6055 in the constellation Nor. At apparent magnitude 5.45, it can be glimpsed with the unaided eye under dark skies.

Like any astronomical target, HR 6055 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 HR 6055 is a rare variable star

HR 6055 scores 38 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 12 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 7 science badges — Variable star, Naked-eye visible, Cool red M-type star, Subgiant (leaving the main sequence), Deep red star, 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.