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Rare variable star 48 EP

HD 193463

RA 305.4272° · Dec -36.4713° · star

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Score breakdown

· 9 badges
48 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Toward the galactic centre +8
  • Deep red star +8
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) +6
  • Red dwarf +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Cool red M-type star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • On the zodiac +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 48

2 more points to reach Epic.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Distant (over 1,000 light-years) · +6
  • Toward the galactic centre · +8
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Cool red M-type star · +5
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M2/M3 — an M-type red star — and M stars are the silent majority: roughly three of every four stars in the galaxy are one.
  • 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 8.7 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Sagittarius.
  • 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 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. ≈ 20.8 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
0.877
bv
1.635
constellation
Sgr
dist ly
1186.0219
luminosity
38.8329
mag
8.68
name
HD 193463
spect
M2/M3
var amplitude
0.44
var designation
V4439
var max
8.444
var min
8.884

About HD 193463

HD 193463 is a rare variable star. It lies about 1,186 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Sgr, shines at apparent magnitude 8.68 and has spectral type M2/M3.

Its spectrum reads M2/M3 — 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 HD 193463 in the constellation Sgr. At apparent magnitude 8.68, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 193463 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 193463 is a rare variable star

HD 193463 scores 48 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 9 science badges — Variable star, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Toward the galactic centre, On the zodiac, Cool red M-type star, Deep red star, Red dwarf and Gently variable — 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.