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Rare variable star 37 EP

HD 206483

RA 325.1629° · Dec 54.3247° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
37 pts · Rare
Rare 50 pts → Epic
  • Strongly variable +10
  • Deep red star +8
  • Red dwarf +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
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Red dwarf · +6
  • Strongly variable · +10
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads M6e-M8e — 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 8.5 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, over in Cygnus.
  • Northern sky. It rides the northern half of the sky — an easier target the further north you are.
  • 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.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 14.3 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
1.546
bv
1.48
constellation
Cyg
dist ly
813.3567
luminosity
20.9701
mag
8.53
name
HD 206483
spect
M6e-M8e
var amplitude
1.02
var designation
RU
var max
7.872
var min
8.892

About HD 206483

HD 206483 is a rare variable star. It lies about 813.4 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Cyg, shines at apparent magnitude 8.53 and has spectral type M6e-M8e.

Its spectrum reads M6e-M8e — 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 206483 in the constellation Cyg. At apparent magnitude 8.53, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 206483 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 206483 is a rare variable star

HD 206483 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, Deep red star, Red dwarf, 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.