Common variable star 17 EP

HD 202746

RA 320.3517° · Dec -66.9159° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges

17 pts · Common

Common 22 pts → Uncommon

Variable star +5
Gently variable +4
Orange K-type star +3
A named variable star +3
Main-sequence star +2

Total score 17

5 more points to reach Uncommon.

Badges

Variable star · +5
Orange K-type star · +3
Main-sequence star · +2
Gently variable · +4
A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K2V(p) — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
Where it is in life. It is on the main sequence, quietly fusing hydrogen in its core exactly as the Sun does.
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. Inside our stellar backyard: every radio broadcast humanity has ever made has already swept past it.

Find it in the sky

How to spot it. At magnitude 9 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Pavo.
Southern sky only. So far south it never rises for most of the northern hemisphere. To see it you'd have to travel to Chile, South Africa or Australia.
Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around August — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

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

Properties

absmag: 6.572
bv: 1.01
constellation: Pav
dist ly: 98.4176
luminosity: 0.2047
mag: 8.97
name: HD 202746
spect: K2V(p)
var amplitude: 0.17
var designation: V390
var max: 8.893
var min: 9.063

Nearby objects

About HD 202746

HD 202746 is a common variable star. It lies about 98.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Pav, shines at apparent magnitude 8.97 and has spectral type K2V(p).

Its spectrum reads K2V(p) — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.

How to see it

Look for HD 202746 in the constellation Pav. At apparent magnitude 8.97, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 202746 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 202746 is a common variable star

HD 202746 scores 17 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 5 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Orange K-type star, Main-sequence 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.