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Uncommon variable star 22 EP

HD 160589

RA 265.5700° · Dec -32.5232° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
22 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Variable star +5
  • White A-type star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • On the zodiac +3
  • A named variable star +3
  • Main-sequence star +2
Total score 22

12 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • White A-type star · +5
  • Main-sequence star · +2
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads A9V — an A-type star: white-hot, typically about twice the Sun's mass, and the class most of the sky's famous bright stars belong to.
  • Where it is in life. It is on the main sequence, quietly fusing hydrogen in its core exactly as the Sun does.
  • 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 7.8 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Scorpius.
  • 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 June — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

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

Properties

absmag
1.689
bv
0.4
constellation
Sco
dist ly
556.5803
luminosity
18.3823
mag
7.85
name
HD 160589
spect
A9V
var amplitude
0.46
var designation
V703
var max
7.604
var min
8.064

About HD 160589

HD 160589 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 556.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Sco, shines at apparent magnitude 7.85 and has spectral type A9V.

Its spectrum reads A9V — an A-type star: white-hot, typically about twice the Sun's mass, and the class most of the sky's famous bright stars belong to.

How to see it

Look for HD 160589 in the constellation Sco. At apparent magnitude 7.85, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 160589 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 160589 is an uncommon variable star

HD 160589 scores 22 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 12 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, On the zodiac, White A-type star, Main-sequence 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.