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Uncommon variable star 29 EP

HIP 108644

RA 330.1517° · Dec -2.7408° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
29 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon 34 pts → Rare
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Giant star +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • On the zodiac +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 29

5 more points to reach Rare.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Giant star · +6
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G5III-IV — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • 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 9.3 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Aquarius.
  • 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 August — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

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

Properties

absmag
3.628
bv
0.901
constellation
Aqr
dist ly
454.8898
luminosity
3.0818
mag
9.35
name
HIP 108644
spect
G5III-IV
var amplitude
0.28
var designation
FF
var max
9.245
var min
9.525

About HIP 108644

HIP 108644 is an uncommon variable star. It lies about 454.9 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Aqr, shines at apparent magnitude 9.35 and has spectral type G5III-IV.

Its spectrum reads G5III-IV — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HIP 108644 in the constellation Aqr. At apparent magnitude 9.35, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HIP 108644 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 108644 is an uncommon variable star

HIP 108644 scores 29 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 5 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, On the zodiac, Sun-like G-type star, Giant 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.