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Common variable star 21 EP

HD 209779

RA 331.5222° · Dec -5.3580° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
21 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Sun-like G-type star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • On the zodiac +3
  • A named variable star +3
  • Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) +2
Total score 21

1 more point to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • Sun-like G-type star · +8
  • Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) · +2
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads G0 — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.
  • 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 7.6 it is just past naked-eye reach — ordinary binoculars will pull it in, 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.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 2 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
4.84
bv
0.674
constellation
Aqr
dist ly
114.6419
luminosity
1.0093
mag
7.57
name
HD 209779
spect
G0
var amplitude
0.04
var designation
NT
var max
7.545
var min
7.585

About HD 209779

HD 209779 is a common variable star. It lies about 114.6 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Aqr, shines at apparent magnitude 7.57 and has spectral type G0.

Its spectrum reads G0 — a G-type star: the very same spectral class as our own Sun.

How to see it

Look for HD 209779 in the constellation Aqr. At apparent magnitude 7.57, it is an easy target for binoculars.

Like any astronomical target, HD 209779 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 209779 is a common variable star

HD 209779 scores 21 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 1 point would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, On the zodiac, Sun-like G-type star, Barely variable (under 0.05 mag) 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.