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Uncommon variable star 32 EP

HD 179494

RA 288.1971° · Dec 3.5574° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
32 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Strongly variable +10
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) +6
  • Variable star +5
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 32

2 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) · +6
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Strongly variable · +10
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G0.5 — 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 8.4 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Aquila.
  • 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 July — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Impossible with our current technology — and the next millennium of it.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 27 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
0.042
bv
1.13
constellation
Aql
dist ly
1538.4717
luminosity
83.7915
mag
8.41
name
HD 179494
spect
G0.5
var amplitude
0.55
var designation
FN
var max
8.178
var min
8.728

About HD 179494

HD 179494 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 1,538.5 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Aql, shines at apparent magnitude 8.41 and has spectral type G0.5.

Its spectrum reads G0.5 — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 179494 in the constellation Aql. At apparent magnitude 8.41, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 179494 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 179494 is an uncommon variable star

HD 179494 scores 32 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), 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.