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Epic variable star 59 EP

HD 211610

RA 334.6638° · Dec -20.9011° · star

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Score breakdown

· 6 badges
59 pts · Epic
Epic 78 pts → Anomaly
  • S-type star (zirconium giant) +20
  • Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) +20
  • Deep red star +8
  • Variable star +5
  • On the zodiac +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 59

19 more points to reach Anomaly.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • On the zodiac · +3
  • S-type star (zirconium giant) · +20
  • Deep red star · +8
  • Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) · +20
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

Hard to believe

  • True brightness. It pours out about 401.8 thousand times as much light as the Sun. It only looks ordinary because it is so far away.

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads S63e — an S-type giant, its atmosphere laced with zirconium dredged up from the fusion going on below.
  • 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.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 10.8 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Aquarius.
  • 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 August — that's when to go looking.

Its true colour

  • Its true colour. Measured through blue and visual filters it comes out deep orange-red (B−V 1.5) — one of the coolest surfaces a star can have while still fusing.

By the numbers

  • Surface temperature. Its colour puts the surface at roughly 3790 K, against the Sun's 5778 K.

Properties

absmag
-9.18
bv
1.5
constellation
Aqr
luminosity
409260.6597
mag
10.82
name
HD 211610
spect
S63e
var amplitude
3.66
var designation
X
var max
8.982
var min
12.642

About HD 211610

HD 211610 is an epic variable star. It sits in the constellation Aqr, shines at apparent magnitude 10.82 and has spectral type S63e.

Its spectrum reads S63e — an S-type giant, its atmosphere laced with zirconium dredged up from the fusion going on below.

How to see it

Look for HD 211610 in the constellation Aqr. At apparent magnitude 10.82, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 211610 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 211610 is an epic variable star

HD 211610 scores 59 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the epic tier. Another 19 points would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 6 science badges — Variable star, On the zodiac, S-type star (zirconium giant), Deep red star, Dramatic variable (over 2 magnitudes) 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.