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Rare variable star 37 EP

HIP 97586

RA 297.5264° · Dec -7.6146° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
37 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Strongly variable +10
  • Deep red star +8
  • Giant star +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 37

13 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Giant star · +6
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Strongly variable · +10
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M6III:e-M8 — 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 giant. It has already exhausted its core hydrogen and swollen up enormously in response.
  • 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 10.9 you'll want a small backyard telescope, 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. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Properties

absmag
4.196
bv
1.5
constellation
Aql
dist ly
728.0268
luminosity
1.8264
mag
10.94
name
HIP 97586
spect
M6III:e-M8
var amplitude
1.83
var designation
GY
var max
9.943
var min
11.773

About HIP 97586

HIP 97586 is a rare variable star. It lies about 728 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Aql, shines at apparent magnitude 10.94 and has spectral type M6III:e-M8.

Its spectrum reads M6III:e-M8 — 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 HIP 97586 in the constellation Aql. At apparent magnitude 10.94, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 97586 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 HIP 97586 is a rare variable star

HIP 97586 scores 37 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 13 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, Cool red M-type star, Giant star, Deep red 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.