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Uncommon variable star 26 EP

HD 168432

RA 274.9507° · Dec -4.9617° · star

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Score breakdown

· 4 badges
26 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Strongly variable +10
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 26

8 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Strongly variable · +10
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G0+... — 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 7.6 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Serpens.
  • Seen from everywhere. It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from essentially anywhere on Earth.
  • 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. ≈ 3.4 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
3.713
bv
0.566
constellation
Ser
dist ly
194.4878
luminosity
2.8497
mag
7.59
name
HD 168432
spect
G0+...
var amplitude
0.56
var designation
QS
var max
7.547
var min
8.107

About HD 168432

HD 168432 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 194.5 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Ser, shines at apparent magnitude 7.59 and has spectral type G0+....

Its spectrum reads G0+... — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 168432 in the constellation Ser. At apparent magnitude 7.59, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 168432 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 168432 is an uncommon variable star

HD 168432 scores 26 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 8 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

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