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Common variable star 20 EP

HD 166181

RA 272.0668° · Dec 29.6912° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
20 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 20

2 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G5 — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • 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 7.7 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Hercules.
  • 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 June — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

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

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 2 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
5.019
bv
0.728
constellation
Her
dist ly
112.1197
luminosity
0.8559
mag
7.7
name
HD 166181
spect
G5
var amplitude
0.12
var designation
V815
var max
7.657
var min
7.777

About HD 166181

HD 166181 is a common variable star. It lies about 112.1 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Her, shines at apparent magnitude 7.7 and has spectral type G5.

Its spectrum reads G5 — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 166181 in the constellation Her. At apparent magnitude 7.7, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 166181 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 166181 is a common variable star

HD 166181 scores 20 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 4 science badges — Variable star, Sun-like G-type 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.